Harry Potter and the Not-Ugly Vampires
by eaglewings2peace
Summary: One summer, after the excitment of the Quidditch World Cup, Ginny finds an interesting looking book called Twilight by Stephanie Meyer. She, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Fred and George decide to read it and find out about Bella and Edwards love life. The title makes more sense if you read this story so... R&R!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This is one my first SERIOUS story on Twilight... My other one (which I deleted) was so bad that I'm pretty sure no one will ever take me seriously ever again (not that they do now...) But I hope that I've done this Much Used Story Line justice, and I swear I won't back out or just randomly stop updating, all though it's going to be very hard for me to update since I go to a boarding school and I'm not aloud my laptop... **

**Anyways, I will update as much as possibly can! And I would love some reviews! **

**Summary: Bored in the Summer once the Quidditch World Cup was over, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Fred and George find an interesting looking book. **_**Twilight by Stephanie Meyer**_**, is found at the back of Ginny's room while they look around for her wand. Thinking they may as well read it, they sit down in the Weasley's Quidditch pitch and spend the Summer reading **_**twilight, **_**followed on by **_**New Moon, Eclipse, **_**and **_**Breaking Dawn.**_

**BTW: Ginny is trying the plan "pretend your not into Harry and he might like you back" so she won't be all blushy and girly which just isn't Ginny in my mind!**

**Disclaimer (and this stands for the whole story, if I forget to put it up...) : I do not own HARRY POTTER or any of the lines (which is the whole book) from TWILIGHT. They belong to the amazing JK. ROWLING and STEPHANIE MEYER. **

**Thanks for reading!**

Ginny Weasley, red hair flying out behind her, came running into the garden of the Burrow, were Harry, Ron and Hermione were playing exploding snap. They looked up as she stopped besides them, gasping for air.

"You have to help me!" she said frantically, still panting.

"With what?" Ron asked curiously, having never seen his sister run like a mad woman like she had just then.

"MY WAND HAS GONE MISSING!" Ginny wailed, and sat down next to Hermione. "I went to go have a shower, and I put it down in my room..." she trailed, her forhead screwed up in thought. "Actually, I don't know where I put it. So yea I put it down and now it's DISAPPEARED!"

The three stared at her in surprise. "You don't take your wand with you for a shower?" Hermione asked.

Ginny shook her head. "No. why would I do that?"

Harry shrugged, grinning. "You never know with Fred and George about."

Ginny felt herself trying not to blush. He looked so damn cute right there, with a small smile and his black hair blowing in the wind. _SNAP OUT OF IT GINNY, REMEMBER THE PLAN!_

"Yeah your right, I should've thought that through more." Ginny answered calmly, not giving away the inner argument going on in her head. The smart side which had agreed to the plan that Hermione had told was argueing with the more reckless side that wanted to throw the plan away...

"Why haven't you just asked Fred and George then?" Ron asked, still trying to figure out what was going on.

Ginny jolted back to the present. "Oh um..." she said, trying remember what they had been talking about. "Oh yea! My wand!" she exclaimed, "Well, I did. I think..."

They all stared at her in complete confusion. "I think she's on something." Harry said conversationaly.

"It's definatly something." Ron agreed.

Harry nodded, thinking. "Do you think this is some sort of prank that Fred and George have recently invented?"

Hermione winked at Ginny, knowing what was going on. Ginny's cheeks turned faintly pink and she looked away, before butting into Harry and Ron's conversation.

"It's definatly a-" Ron started to say.

"I'm NOT ON DRUGS!" she yelled.

"That's a relief!" Harry said, grinning.

"Yea I was really worried!" Ron added sarcastically.

Hermione snickered, then said sternly, "Come on let's help Ginny find her wand." She got up from their game and Ginny followed her lead. Hermione raised an eyebrow when Ron and Harry didn't move to get up.

This started a round of groaning and complaining from the two fourteen year old boys.

"Hermione we were having a good game!"

"Ginny can join us and we can look later!"

"It's only a wand, _Hermione!_"

That last comment made Hermione angry. "Oh Harry, it's just a wand is it?" she asked angrily. Harry stared at her in shock.

"Erm... yes?" he asked back, going pale.

"So you've never lost your wand before?" Hermione said with vemon, her eyes blazing angrily.

Realization dawned over Harry's face, along with fear from Hermione's fierce expression. "Oh yea! Well, um, Ginny let's go find your wand! I know it's a very terrible thing." He jumped up and took hold of Ginny's arm and the back of Ron's t-shirt. "Come on Ron, your helping to."

"Wait? What?" he cried, being dragged into the house after Harry. Ginny looked back briefly at Hermione, and smiled hugely.

Hermione shook her head at her crazy friends and followed them into the house.

3 ½ hours later, after getting Fred and George to help them, Ginny came tearing into the living room, were the other five were looking.

"I found my wand!" she said breathlessly, catching their attention. "and I found this interesting looking book!"

They all cheered with relief and sat down on the sofas. "What's the book about?" Hermione asked, always interested when it came to books.

"Well," Ginny started, looking at the cover, which was black and had a picture of some hands holding an apple. "It's called _Twilight by Stephanie Meyer. _Ring any bells?"

The boys looked only vaguely interested, but Hermione's face was lit up with enthusiasum. "Can I see the back?" she asked Ginny.

Ginny nodded and handed it over. "**About three things I was absolutely positive**," Hermione started reading. "**First, Edward was a vampire."**

Fred started laughing. "Off course hes a vampire! With a name like that..." this send of hails of laughter from everyone else.

"Shhh, let me finish!"

"**Second, there was a part of him-and I didn't know how dominant that might be- that thirsted for my blood."**

George opened his mouth to retort something equally as funny, but Hermione sent him a glare so like Professor McGonagall's that he shut it sharpish.

"Because hes a vampire you numpty." He whispered quietly before Hermione started reading again.

"**And third, I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him."**

No one said anything, but the room just started laughing. "She must be blind!" chuckled Ron.

"Why?" Harry asked, having never seen a real life vampire before.

"Well, to put it simply, their the ugliest magical creatures ever." Ginny said disgustedly. "And they smell bad."

"Ahhhhhh."

"**When Isabella Swan moves to the gloomy town of Forks and meets the mysterious, alluring Edward Cullen, her life takes a thrilling and terrifying turn."**

"I have no comment." Fred said.

"Then shut up then."

"**With his porcelain skin, golden eyes, mesmerizing voice, and supernatural gifts, Edward is both irresistible and impenetrable."**

"MERLIN!" Ginny shouted. "He sounds so hot!"

"I agree." Hermione said, while the boys stared at them in surprise.

"**Up until now, he has managed to keep his true identity hidden, but Bella is determined to uncover his dark secret. What Bella doesn't realize is that closer she gets to him, the more she is putting herself and those around her at risk. And it might be too late to turn back..."**

Hermione turned the book around, finishing. "Well, that's the back. Who wants to read it? I think it sounds interesting!"

Ginny immediately said, "I do!"

Fred, George, Harry and Ron exchanged looks that clearly said, _'I want to read this but I don't want to say so.' _In the end, Harry said.

"I'll read it to."

That made Ron agree, and then Fred and finally George.

Ginny and Hermione beamed at them.

"So I think we should read this outside, because one we don't really want Mr. Weasley or Mrs. Weasley hearing us read about the forbidden romance about a vampire and a human." Hermione suggested. They all nodded in agreement; and Ginny blushed red at the thought of her Mum coming in and hearing whatever went on in this book.

"We can read in our 'Quidditch Pitch'. Mum never comes out there anyway and neither will Percy." George offered, getting up and walking towards the door. He turned back, "Unless you've got any better ideas?"

"Nope!" came the choruses.

They all left the Burrow and were halfway there until Ron shouted, "Wait!"

They stopped and stared at him. "We need food! If we are going to be sitting there reading I need food!" and he ran back into the house to get some supplies for the long days in which they would spend reading about Edward and Bella's romance.

**A/N: thank you for everyone who has taken the time to read this! I will try and update with the second chapter ASAP! Oh, and BTW if there are any spelling mistakes or grammatical errors please let me know!**

**READ AND REVIEW IT WOULD MAKE MY DAY!**

**Eaglewings2peace xoxoxo**


	2. Chapter 2 IS FINALLY HERE!

**A/N: Thanks to all who reviewed and added to their favorites! It means a lot to me! I would like to say that it will be a long time for me to update, since the **_**Twilight**_** chapters are VERY VERY long! Sooo long! Even the preface took me an hour, just think about the actual chapters... aaahhhhhh!**

**So thanks again and READ AND REVIEW! They make me happy! Very happy!**

**Disclaimer: HARRY POTTER and TWILIGHT do not belong to me, the story (although used a lot) is mine! Harry Potter belongs to JK ROWLING and Twilight belongs to STEPHANIE MEYER. **

**Enjoy!**

Chapter One: First Sight and First Reading

"Merlin, what is taking Ron so long?" Fred asked, tapping his foot impatiently under one of the big tress where they were all waiting. The others were sitting down, and Hermione had been forbidden from reading ahead.

Harry laughed, "You know Ron, he takes ages when it comes to food! Hes probably wondering how hes supposed to carry it all back on his own."

As if on cue, Ron came running up to them with three bags of food, red in the face.

"One or two of you could've come back and helped me! I had to lug all this by myself!" Ron shouted furiously, once he'd got his breath back.

George took an apple from one of the bags and took a bite. "Well Ickle-Ronnie-Kins," he said, using Ron's hated nickname. "We knew you would be the one to eat most of the food."

The others snickered a little, apart from Hermione, who was eagerly holding the book in her hands.

"YAY! Ron's back, time for celebration! Can we read now?" she asked impatiently.

"Yes, yes." Ginny laughed, taking the book from Hermione's hands. "I say we all read a chapter."

"Agreed."

Ginny nodded happily and opened the book to the first chapter.

"**Chapter One: First Sight,"** she read, waiting for some smart comments from the twins or Harry or Ron. Nothing. She continued.

"**My mother drove me to the airport **

"What's an airport?" all the Weasley's present asked.

"A place from which aircraft operate that usually has paved runways and maintenance facilities and often serves as a terminal." Hermione explained, sounding as though she had swallowed a dictionary.

"I shouldn't have asked." George muttered.

"**With the windows rolled down. It was seventy-five degrees in Phoenix, the sky a perfect, cloudless blue. **

"Wow, it sounds so beautiful..." Ginny muttered dreamily.

"Yeah..." Hermione agreed.

"Their CRAZY!" Harry muttered to Ron, Fred and George.

"**I was wearing my favorite shirt – sleeveless, white eyelet lace; I was wearing it as a farewell gesture. **

"What's she saying goodbye to?" Ron asked confused. He got no answer.

"**My carry-on item was a parka. In the Olympic Peninsula of northwest Washington State, a small town named Forks exists under a near-constant cover of clouds.**

"Ohhhhhh! It sounds like England!" Ginny gasped.

"This isn't set in England then?" Fred asked.

Everyone laughed, even his own twin.

"**It rains on this inconsequential town more than any other place in the United States of America. **

Harry raised his eyebrow. "Does that answer your question, Fred?"

More laughter, and Harry got an apple core thrown at his head.

"Oww..."

"**It was from this town and it's gloomy, omnipresent shade that my mother escaped with me when I was only a few months old. It was in this town that I'd been compelled to spend a month every Summer until I was fourteen. That was the year I finally put my foot down; these past three summers, my dad, Charlie, vacationed with me in California for two weeks instead. It was to Forks that I now exiled myself- an action that I took with great horror. I detested Forks.**

"Merlin, why is she going to this 'Forks' place if she hates it there?" Ron asked, hoping that this time he would get an answer.

Hermione shrugged. "It might be explained later on in the book, or in this chapter but I will guess that maybe it's something to do with her Mum."

"Right."

"**I loved Phoenix. I loved the sun and the blistering heat. I loved the vigorous, sprawling city.**

"Haha, has anyone noticed the names?" Fred chuckled. "_Forks? Phoenix? _Sounds like Fawkes the Phoenix becomes famous in America!"

Rounds of laughter followed this and George high fived his brother.

Hermione laughed and then tells Fred, "Dumbledore's phoenix is not called _Forks_ as in the utensil, but Fawkes. There's a difference!"

Ginny chuckled at her brothers red face and starts reading again, enjoy all the friendly banter that was going on.

**"Bella," my mom said to me - the last of a thousand times - before I got on the  
>plane. "You don't have to do this."<strong>

"Yes, Bella! You do! Or else there won't be a story!" Harry encouraged her.

Everyone stared at him in surprise and Ginny whispered to Hermione, "He is nuts. Really crazy!"

"**My mom looks like me, except with short hair and laugh lines. I felt a spasm of panic as I stared at her wide, childlike eyes. How could I leave my loving, erratic, harebrained mother to fend for herself? Of course she had Phil now, so the bills would probably get paid, there would be food in the refrigerator, gas in her car, and someone to call when she got lost, but still...**

"Who's the Mum, this Bella girl or the one called Mom?" Hermione asked in confusion.

"OH MY MERLIN! Hermione is confused from a book!" Fred, George, Ron and Harry exclaimed excitedly. "Call the Daily Prophet!"

"Oh, shut up..." she mumbled, her face going red.

**"I want to go," I lied. I'd always been a bad liar,**

"Then why is she doing it?" Hermione said at the same time as Ron burst out, "SHE CAN'T BE AS BAD AS HARRY!"

"I'm not a bad liar!" Harry said, offended.

"You are mate, sorry to say..." Ron answered.

"Hmmm..." Harry muttered, glaring at Ron.

"**But I'd been saying this lie so frequently lately that it sounded almost convincing now. "Tell Charlie I said hi."  
>"I will."<br>"I'll see you soon," she insisted. "You can come home whenever you want - I'll come right back as soon as you need me."**

"Now that's a good mother. She cares for her daughter even though she's moving away." Ginny stated, then added. "Abit like our Mum."

Harry laughed at her serious tone. "Just get back to reading Ginny."

"**But I could see the sacrifice in her eyes behind the promise. "Don't worry about me," I urged. "It'll be great. I love you, Mom."  
>She hugged me tightly for a minute, and then I got on the plane, and she was gone.<strong>

"Erm, what's a plane?" Ginny asked.

Harry opened his mouth to explain but Hermione beat him to it, with the perfect text book definition of a Plane. "A plane is a powered heavier-than-air aircraft with fixed wings from which it derives most of its lift."

"Right..." Ginny said, then turned to Harry. "Harry what's a plane?"

"It's a metal container thingy that flies through the air to different countries with passengers inside." Harry explained.

"Ok."

"**It's a four-hour flight from Phoenix to Seattle, another hour in a small plane up to Port Angeles, and then an hour drive back down to Forks. Flying doesn't bother me; the hour in the car with Charlie, though, I was a little worried about.**

"But, isn't Charlie her Dad?" Harry asked.

"Yup." Fred answered.

"Then... why?"

Harry got no answer.

"**Charlie had really been fairly nice about the whole thing. He seemed genuinely pleased that I was coming to live with him for the first time with any degree of permanence. He'd already gotten me registered for high school and was going to help me get a car."**

Harry burst out again, his green eyes confused. "THEN WHY IS SHE DREADING DRIVING IN A CAR WITH HIM?"

Hermione sighed and realized that Harry would not rest until he got at least some sort of answer. "Because Harry," but Ginny signals that she should stop.

"It's explained in this paragraph." Ginny explained.

"Ok."

"**But it was sure to be awkward with Charlie. Neither of us was what anyone would call verbose, **

"And that is..." Ginny asked no one in particular.

They all, even Hermione shook their heads.

"Actually..." Fred started. "I think it's someone who doesn't like speaking much or expressing their feelings or something along those lines."

George stared at his twin in total surprise. "Who ARE you?" he asked.

Fred grinned, "Why my dear Feorge, I am your twin Gred!"

George smiled with relief. "I thought you were an imposter!"

"**And I didn't know what there was to say regardless. I knew he was more than a little confused by my decision - like my mother before me; I hadn't made a secret of my distaste for Forks."**

Ron shook his head, he had been unusually quite during this reading, mainly because he had been engrossed in the book. Now though, he felt he needed to speak up. "These books are really weird."

"Very." Hermione and Harry agreed.

"**When I landed in Port Angeles, it was raining. I didn't see it as an omen - just  
>unavoidable. I'd already said my goodbyes to the sun."<strong>

"Dear Merlin, it sounds worse than England!" Ron cried out in horror. He hated rain.

No one commented, though they all agreed with Ron on that one.

"**Charlie was waiting for me with the cruiser. This I was expecting, too. Charlie is Police Chief Swan to the good people of Forks. My primary motivation behind buying a car, despite the scarcity of my funds, was that I refused to be driven around town in a car with red and blue lights on top. Nothing slows down traffic like a cop.**

"What's a cop?" all the Weasley's asked.

Harry and Hermione exchanged a look, and Hermione answered, "I think it's American slang for Police Man."

Ron and Harry exchanged grins and Ron shouted out, "PLEASE-MEN!" off course, Harry and Hermione had told him it was POLICE-men but he had decided he like Please better.

Ginny, Fred and George didn't understand why the three were laughing, and Ginny decided to start reading again.

"**Charlie gave me an awkward, one-armed hug when I stumbled my way off the plane. "It's good to see you, Bells," he said, smiling as he automatically caught and steadied me. **

Harry and Ginny chuckled, clumsy people had always amused them.

**"You haven't changed much. How's Renée?"  
>"Mom's fine. It's good to see you, too, Dad." I wasn't allowed to call him Charlie to his face.<strong>

"Quite right to!" Hermione exclaimed. "Calling him Charlie would be so offensive and insensitive not to mention disrespecting him as a parent!"

Hermione continued to rant on, and Ron muttered to Ginny, "Just ignore her and continue reading, this might take a while..."

"**I had only a few bags. Most of my Arizona clothes were too permeable for Washington. My mom and I had pooled our resources to supplement my winter wardrobe, but it was still scanty. It all fit easily into the trunk of the cruiser."**

Fred and George, knowing alittle about the way Muggles think, suddenly ask, "Is this Forks place an island?"

"What?" Harry asks back, just as confused as the rest of them.

"Well, she said," started Fred.

"That her luggage," continued George.

"Fit in a cruiser!" they both said. "And a cruiser is a boat, right?"

"No, I'm pretty sure it's a type of car..." Hermione said.

**"I found a good car for you, really cheap," he announced when we were strapped in.  
>"What kind of car?" I was suspicious of the way he said "good car for you" as opposed to just "good car."<strong>

Harry and Ginny shared amused glances. "She must be VERY clumsy then!" they chuckled.

"How can you tell?" Ron asked.

"Because," Harry explained. "Her Dad said good car for YOU!"

"Right..."

**"Well, it's a truck actually, a Chevy."  
>"Where did you find it?"<br>"Do you remember Billy Black down at La Push?" La Push is the tiny Indian  
>reservation on the coast.<strong>

"Indian reservation?" they all asked in confusion, then at Hermione in confusion.

She shrugged. "Don't look at me."

**"No."  
>"He used to go fishing with us during the summer," Charlie prompted.<br>That would explain why I didn't remember him. I do a good job of blocking painful,  
>unnecessary things from my memory.<strong>

"I bet she fell in the water..." Harry muttered to himself, a blissful smile on his face.

**"He's in a wheelchair now," Charlie continued when I didn't respond, "so he can't drive anymore, and he offered to sell me his truck cheap."  
>"What year is it?" I could see from his change of expression that this was the question he was hoping I wouldn't ask.<strong>

"BOOM DADDY! YOU JUST GOT OWNED!" Fred shouted out. Even his twin stared at him. "What? I heard some American kid shouting it at his Dad... it stuck in my memory." Fred explained.

"Off course you did..." Ron muttered.

**"Well, Billy's done a lot of work on the engine - it's only a few years old, really."**

"How can he do work on it when hes in a wheelchair?" Ron asked.

"Because hes ultra smart!" Harry answered.

**I hoped he didn't think so little of me as to believe I would give up that easily. "When  
>did he buy it?"<br>"He bought it in 1984, I think."**

"Hey that's pretty new!" Hermione exclaimed, "I think I've seen those cars driving around!"

"Me too." Harry answered her.

**"Did he buy it new?"  
>"Well, no. I think it was new in the early sixties - or late fifties at the earliest," he<br>admitted sheepishly.  
>"Ch - Dad, I don't really know anything about cars. I wouldn't be able to fix it if<br>anything went wrong, and I couldn't afford a mechanic..."  
>"Really, Bella, the thing runs great. They don't build them like that anymore."<strong>

"Hehehehe, the thing!"

"**The thing, I thought to myself... it had possibilities - as a nickname, at the very least.  
>"How cheap is cheap?" After all, that was the part I couldn't compromise on.<br>"Well, honey, I kind of already bought it for you. As a homecoming gift." Charlie  
>peeked sideways at me with a hopeful expression.<strong>

"Awwwwww how sweet!" Ginny said.

"Can we at least get through a few pages before someone interupts? We aren't even halfway done the chapter!" Hermione exploded angrily.

"OK..."

"**Wow. Free.  
>"You didn't need to do that, Dad. I was going to buy myself a car."<br>"I don't mind. I want you to be happy here." He was looking ahead at the road when he said this. Charlie wasn't comfortable with expressing his emotions out loud. I inherited that from him. So I was looking straight ahead as I responded.  
>"That's really nice, Dad. Thanks. I really appreciate it." <strong>

"Wow so touching." Harry was able to mutter before Hermione shot him a glare of death.

"**No need to add that my being happy in Forks is an impossibility. He didn't need to suffer along with me. And I never looked a free truck in the mouth - or engine.  
>"Well, now, you're welcome," he mumbled, embarrassed by my thanks.<strong>

A few people chuckled at this, thinking that Bella's thanks hadn't sounded that thankful.

"**We exchanged a few more comments on the weather, which was wet, and that was  
>pretty much it for Conversation. We stared out the windows in silence.<br>It was beautiful, of course; I couldn't deny that. Everything was green: the trees, their  
>trunks covered with moss, their branches hanging with a canopy of it, the ground covered with ferns. Even the air filtered down greenly through the leaves.<br>It was too green - an alien planet.**

More laughter, and Ron was brave enough to say, "Aliens! We live in an Alien Planet!"

"**Eventually we made it to Charlie's. He still lived in the small, two-bedroom house that he'd bought with my mother in the early days of their marriage. Those were the only kind of days their marriage had - the early ones. **

Momentarily breaking her rule of silence, even though a few other had as well, Hermione muttered sadly, "Oh, that's terrible!"

Ginny nodded her agreement, thinking of how she would feel if her parents had split up so early. Well, she wouldn't be here for a start...

"**There, parked on the street in front of the house that never changed, was my new - well, new to me - truck. It was a faded red color, with big, rounded fenders and a bulbous cab. To my intense surprise, I loved it.**

"What a surprise. I bet she would say she loved it even if she hated it..." George whispers so that only Fred was able to hear him. He nods his agreement, then pretends to be shaking his head as if he had a leaf in his hair, when Hermione looks over.

Even if she was only 14, she was scaring when annoyed.

"**I didn't know if it would run, but I could see myself in it. Plus, it was one of those solid iron affairs that never gets damaged - the kind you see at the scene of an accident, paint unscratched, surrounded by the pieces of the foreign car it had destroyed.**

More laughter happened, and Hermione couldn't stop because one, she was laughing along with them and two Bella's outlook on life was slightly amusing.

**"Wow, Dad, I love it! Thanks!" Now my horrific day tomorrow would be just that much less dreadful. I wouldn't be faced with the choice of either walking two miles in the rain to school or accepting a ride in the Chief's cruiser.**

"Walk, walk, walk." All the purebloods said together.

"Why don't they live at their school like us?" Ginny asked, since she or her brothers had never been to a normal Muggle school.

Hermione thought about it. "Well when you live at schools it's called a Boarding School, so Hogwarts is a Boarding School. And I'm pretty sure that in America, Boarding Schools are considered very expensive, so they just go to normal schools were you leave the campus at the end of the day and go home." Hermione explained.

"Wow..." Ginny muttered, thinking about how it different Muggles lived their lives. "So why doesn't Hogwarts do that?"

This time George, to their surprise, cut in before Hermione. "Because there's more Muggles in the world, or the UK at least, than the witches and wizards, so we all come from all over England, Wales, Scotland and North England, and it would mean getting on the Hogwarts Train every day. Morning and evening."

The circle of friends and siblings stared at George in surprise and awe. "How did you know that?" Fred asked his twin.

He shrugged in response and winked. "That day when you had a detention WITHOUT me, I got bored so I got a _book_ from a friends room." He winked again, and motioned towards Hermione slightly.

"Ahhhhhh." Fred said, then he grinned. "YOU ACTAULLY DID IT!"

"Yep!"

**"I'm glad you like it," Charlie said gruffly, embarrassed again. It took only one trip to get all my stuff upstairs. I got the west bedroom that faced out over the front yard. The room was familiar; it had been belonged to me since I was born.  
>The wooden floor, the light blue walls, the peaked ceiling, the yellowed lace curtains<br>around the window - these were all a part of my childhood. The only changes Charlie had ever made were switching the crib for a bed and adding a desk as I grew. The desk now held a secondhand computer, with the phone line for the modem stapled along the floor to the nearest phone jack. This was a stipulation from my mother, so that we could stay in touch easily. **

"Ok," George said. "What is a Computer?"

"And," added Fred, "a Phone Line?"

"What's a Modem?" Ginny asked.

"And a Phone Jack." Ron added in.

Hermione took a deep breath and started explaining it all in very complicated detail. Harry nodded along, as if listening to music that wasn't quite his taste.

Once she was finished, Ginny asked, "Do you have a computer?"

"No, because there very expensive." Hermione explained at the same time Harry said, "Dudley has two."

"Hmmm..."

"**The rocking chair from my baby days was still in the corner.  
>There was only one small bathroom at the top of the stairs, which I would have to share with Charlie. I was trying not to dwell too much on that fact.<strong>

The two girls cringed at that fact.

"**One of the best things about Charlie is he doesn't hover. He left me alone to unpack and get settled, a feat that would have been altogether impossible for my mother. It was nice to be alone, not to have to smile and look pleased; a relief to stare dejectedly out the window at the sheeting rain and let just a few tears escape. **

"I feel sorry for her." Ginny stated calmly, forgetting the new "Hermione Rule" of not talking through the chapter, she got a glare and a smile for her troubles.

"**I wasn't in the mood to go on a real crying jag. I would save that for bedtime, when I would have to think about the coming morning.** **Forks High School had a frightening total of only three hundred and fifty-seven – now fifty-eight - students; there were more than seven hundred people in my junior class alone back home. All of the kids here had grown up together - their grandparents had been toddlers together. I would be the new girl from the big city, a curiosity, a freak.**

"**Maybe, if I looked like a girl from Phoenix should, I could work this to my advantage. But physically, I'd never fit in anywhere. I should be tan, sporty, blond - a volleyball player, or a cheerleader, **

"What's a cheerleader?" Ginny asked, thinking it sounded abit stupid.

Harry shrugged, totally at a loss of what it was. "Ummm... I think it's a sporty person who cheers on teams?" Hermione explained.

No one commented on her lack of knowledge on Cheerleaders, instead just acknowledging her explanation.

Only Ron was unable to keep it to himself, he chuckled to himself, and Harry – who was sitting next to him – gave him a look that plainly said _not right now._

"**Perhaps - all the things that go with living in the valley of the sun. Instead, I was ivory-skinned, without even the excuse of blue eyes or red hair, despite the constant sunshine. I had always been slender, but soft somehow, obviously not an athlete; I didn't have the necessary hand-eye coordination to play sports without humiliating myself - and harming both myself and anyone else who stood too close.**

rounds of laughter followed this, especially from Ginny and Harry. This just made their 'clumsy people' passion all the more funnier.

**When I finished putting my clothes in the old pine dresser, I took my bag of bathroom necessities and went to the communal bathroom to clean myself up after the day of travel. I looked at my face in the mirror as I brushed through my tangled, damp hair. Maybe it was the light, but already I looked sallower, unhealthy. My skin could be pretty - it was very clear, almost translucent-looking - but it all depended on color. I had no color here. Facing my pallid reflection in the mirror, I was forced to admit that I was lying to myself. It wasn't just physically that I'd never fit in. And if I couldn't find a niche in a school with three thousand people, what were my chances here?**

"Whoa, 3 THOUSAND people?" Harry burst out after his prolonged silence. "That's LOADS of teenagers in one place!"

Hermione, Fred, and George gave him a look. "How many people do you think are in Hogwarts?"

Harry shrugged, "No idea."

"Lots."

"**I didn't relate well to people my age. Maybe the truth was that I didn't relate well to  
>people, period. Even my mother, who I was closer to than anyone else on the planet, was never in harmony with me, never on exactly the same page. Sometimes I wondered if I was seeing the same things through my eyes that the rest of the world was seeing through theirs. Maybe there was a glitch in my brain. But the cause didn't matter. All that mattered was the effect. And tomorrow would be just the beginning.<strong>

Ginny looked up from the book, the expression on her face saying it was the end of the chapter.

"Is it the end of the chapter?" George asked expentantly.

Ginny laughed. "No! I just wanted to know if my acting skills had got better!"

Ron groaned and face palmed, thinking back to a conversation he and Ginny had had a while ago before Hogwarts. "Blood hell, I thought you'd forgotten that!"

Ginny smiled evilly. "I never forget!"

**I didn't sleep well that night, even after I was done crying. The constant whooshing of the rain and wind across the roof wouldn't fade into the background. I pulled the faded old quilt over my head, and later added the pillow, too. But I couldn't fall asleep until after midnight, when the rain finally settled into a quieter drizzle.**

Harry, knowing how it felt to have sleepless nights sympathyzes with Bella. "I hate it when it takes me ages to sleep."

"Frustrating." Ginny agrees, inside congratulating Hermione's plan, it was working! She could speak to him normally!

"**Thick fog was all I could see out my window in the morning, and I could feel the claustrophobia creeping up on me. You could never see the sky here; it was like a cage. Breakfast with Charlie was a quiet event. He wished me good luck at school. I thanked him, knowing his hope was wasted. Good luck tended to avoid me. **

Everyone stared at Harry. He looked back at them with a bemused expression in his green eyes. They kept looking, and Ron gave a helpful cough. "OH!" realization removed bemused. Harry looked at Hermione.

"Hermione, you really have the worse luck!" he exclaimed.

"Whaaaaaaaat?" Hermione said, looking confused while everyone else started giggling. "Ahhhh, I get it, your blaming your TERRIBLE luck on me. Nice one Harry!" Hermione sniffed and wiped her eyes. "I thought we were friends!"

Even more laughter happened after Hermione's tearful speech. Harry looked mortified. "Um... Hermione I'm sorry?"

She didn't look up, instead pretended to keep crying.

"You got yourself into this one, mate." Ron whispered helpfully.

"**Charlie left first, off to the police station that was his wife and family. After he left, I sat at the old square oak table in one of the three unmatching chairs and examined his small kitchen, with its dark paneled walls, bright yellow cabinets, and white linoleum floor. Nothing was changed.  
>My mother had painted the cabinets eighteen years ago in an attempt to bring some<br>sunshine into the house. Over the small fireplace in the adjoining handkerchief-sized  
>family room was a row of pictures. First a wedding picture of Charlie and my mom in<br>Las Vegas, then one of the three of us in the hospital after I was born, taken by a helpful nurse, followed by the procession of my school pictures up to last year's. **

As if to check, Ron stated, "And none of them move."

"No Ron, because this is a Muggle book." Hermione said, her voice muffled were it was hidden in her hands.

"BUT MUGGLES DON'T BELIEVE IN VAMPIRES!" Ron shouted.

"**Those were embarrassing to look at - I would have to see what I could do to get Charlie to put them somewhere else, at least while I was living here. It was impossible, being in this house, not to realize that Charlie had never gotten over  
>my mom. It made me uncomfortable.<br>I didn't want to be too early to school, but I couldn't stay in the house anymore. I  
>donned my jacket - which had the feel of a biohazard suit<strong>

"Ok, what in Merlin's name is..." Ginny looked closely at the printing, then said. "A biohazard suit?"

"A biohazard suit is a special suit that protects you from nasty chemicals." Hermione explained, and Harry couldn't help note that her voice wasn't wobbly or cracked from crying.

"And chemicals are...?" Fred asked.

"Abit like dark magic, except Muggle kind with science."

"Right," George said.

"**- and headed out into the rain. It was just drizzling still, not enough to soak me through immediately as I reached for the house key that was always hidden under the eaves by the door, and locked up. The sloshing of my new waterproof boots was unnerving. **

"Ok," George declared. "That's just going way over the top! Surely there was rain at her old place!"

"Exactly what I was thinking my dear brother!" Fred announced.

"**I missed the normal crunch of gravel as I walked. I couldn't pause and admire my truck again as I wanted; I was in a hurry to get out of the misty wet that swirled around my head and clung to my hair under my hood.**

Hermione made a noise of disgust. "Ugh, I hate it when that happens to me. My hair always goes frizzy afterwards!"

Ginny nodded along. "It's very annoying! My Mum said she knew a spell to stop it but she wouldn't tell me until I finish Hogwarts!"

"Your hair doesn't go as frizzy as mine though!" Hermione sympathized.

"Your right, it doesn't. yours goes insanely frizzy. Maybe I can find out what the spell was, I'm sure someone in Hogwarts will know it..." Ginny muttered, thinking.

Hermione let out a very un-Hermione-like scream. "Thank you Ginny! it would save my life!"

Ginny blushed. "No problem."

"**Inside the truck, it was nice and dry. Either Billy or Charlie had obviously cleaned it up, but the tan upholstered seats still smelled faintly of tobacco, gasoline, and peppermint.  
>The engine started quickly, to my relief, but loudly, roaring to life and then idling at top volume. Well, a truck this old was bound to have a flaw. The antique radio worked, a plus that I hadn't expected.<strong>

"She's very pessimistic about that radio." Fred notted with pleasure. "She should be happy that it works!"

"She is?" Ron said.

"**Finding the school wasn't difficult, though I'd never been there before. The school was, like most other things, just off the highway. It was not obvious that it was a school; only the sign, which declared it to be the Forks High School, made me stop. It looked like a collection of matching houses, built with maroon-colored bricks. There were so many trees and shrubs I couldn't see its size at first. Where was the feel of the institution?**

"Do schools have instituition feels?" George asked.

"They might..." Hermione muttered.

"My old school did, it was terrible." Harry shuddered at the thought.

**I wondered nostalgically. Where were the chain-link fences, the metal detectors?**

"What are chain-link fences and metal detectors?" Ron asked for the benefit of the purebloods.

"Well, chain link fences are fences made of metal, usually used to stop things getting in or out. And metal detectors detect metals and stuff when walked through." Hermione explained.

"And you need all that in a school!" George exclaimed in shock. It didn't sounds very schooly-y for him.

Hermione and Harry shrugged. "I guess so..."

"**I parked in front of the first building, which had a small sign over the door reading front office. No one else was parked there, so I was sure it was off limits, but I decided I would get directions inside instead of circling around in the rain like an idiot. I stepped unwillingly out of the toasty truck cab and walked down a little stone path lined with dark hedges. I took a deep breath before opening the door.  
>Inside, it was brightly lit, and warmer than I'd hoped. The office was small; a little<br>waiting area with padded folding chairs, orange-flecked commercial carpet, notices and awards cluttering the walls, a big clock ticking loudly. Plants grew everywhere in large plastic pots, as if there wasn't enough greenery outside. **

"Oh that sounds nice!" Harry exclaimed. Everyone stared at him. "What, you can tell a lot about a school by the reception!"

"Were in Merlin's name did you get that logic from?" Ron asked him.

Harry looked shifty. "No one..."

"**The room was cut in half by a long counter, cluttered with wire baskets full of papers and brightly colored flyers taped to its front. There were three desks behind the counter, one of which was manned by a large, red-haired woman wearing glasses. She was wearing a purple t-shirt, which immediately made me feel overdressed.**

"Yes because wearing a t-shirt," Fred scoffed.

"Is SOOO underdressed!" George finished.

"**The red-haired woman looked up. "Can I help you?"  
>"I'm Isabella Swan," I informed her, and saw the immediate awareness light her eyes. I was expected, a topic of gossip no doubt. Daughter of the Chief's flighty ex-wife, come home at last. <strong>

"Aaahhhh, she's going to get a lot of attention." Hermione said knowingly.

"How can you tell?" Ron asked her.

"Well, just by the way this receptionist is acting!" Hermione tone of voice made everyone add on a 'duh!' in their minds.

"Oh yea that reminds me," Ginny exclaimed. "What's a receptionist?"

"A person who does lots of paperwork, like applications and stuff." Harry explained just before Hermione. He smiled widely. "YES I BEAT 'MIONE IN EXPLAINING SOMETHING!" then something crossed his mind. "Did I even hurt your feelings before?"

"Before when?" Hermione asked, smiling evilly.

"When you were crying!"

Hermione made a big production of having to think it all through. She screwed up her forehead and made 'hmmmm'ing noises. "Ahhhhh yes I remember. Harry I ws faking it. I'm sorry to tell you."

"I will get you." Harry muttered, taking a bite out of some bread that had been lying around.

**"Of course," she said. She dug through a precariously stacked pile of documents on her desk till she found the ones she was looking for. "I have your schedule right here, and a map of the school." She brought several sheets to the counter to show roe.  
>She went through my classes for me, highlighting the best route to each on the map, and gave me a slip to have each teacher sign, which I was to bring back at the end of the day. She smiled at me and hoped, like Charlie, that I would like it here in Forks. I smiled back as convincingly as I could.<strong>

Fred declared after a discussion with his twin brother. "I believe we should take some bets."

George continued. "You see, in my times as a prankster, the best pranks have been made,"

"While others are betting on who will get caught or not." Fred nodded along.

"So this book will be made better,"

"If,"

"We,"

"Bet on the outcomes!" they finished together, grinning identical grins.

The others thought it through. The circle of friends and family were, for once, very quiet as they thought through the twins proposition.

"I'm in." Ron said.

"Same." Harry said.

"Me to."

"And me."

The twins smiled widely at the others. "Perfect! Now, I bet that Bella will in the end, enjoy living in this Forks place and not want to leave! Who agrees with me?"

"I do, because if she falls in love with this Edward person then she won't want to leave." Ginny answered, her brown eyes twinkling.

Ron and Harry both said, "I don't, because there have been hints all through the chapter that she won't like it there." The twins nodded happily at them, since it wouldn't be a bet if they all agreed with the same thing.

"Now it's just you Hermione." Harry said helpfully.

"Err..." Hermione mumbled. "I think I'm going to go with Harry and Ron, there have been hints all through the chapter that it was going to be impossible for her to like it there."

"Five galleons sound good?" George asked. They all nodded and shook hands.

**When I went back out to my truck, other students were starting to arrive. I drove around the school, following the line of traffic. I was glad to see that most of the cars were older like mine, nothing flashy. At home I'd lived in one of the few lower-income neighborhoods that were included in the Paradise Valley District. It was a common thing to see a new Mercedes or Porsche in the student lot. **

"Cars, different types of cars. Their thought to be very flashy and fast, well they are flashy and fast, but also expensive." Hermione explained before anyone could ask her.

"Abit like brooms." Harry added in helpfully.

"**The nicest car here was a shiny Volvo, and it stood out. Still, I cut the engine as soon as I was in a spot, so that the thunderous volume wouldn't draw attention to me. I looked at the map in the truck, trying to memorize it now; hopefully I wouldn't have to walk around with it stuck in front of my nose all day. **

"That's not possible unless she has a photographic memory." Hermione said.

Ron said to Harry with grin, "I wish we had had a map when we were first years, it would've saved so much time!" Harry nodded.

"People could help her around." Ginny pointed out to Hermione, as she had been shown around by helpful people on her first year.

"**I stuffed everything in my bag, slung the strap over my shoulder, and sucked in a huge breath. I can do this, I lied to myself feebly. No one was going to bite me. **

The twins laughed. "Understatement of the YEAR!" the shouted out.

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked.

"Well... this book is about Vampires!" George explained, still chuckling at the irony.

Everyone caught on and laughed with them, but Hermione just cracked a smile and rolled her eyes in bemusement.

"**I finally exhaled and stepped out of the truck. I kept my face pulled back into my hood as I walked to the sidewalk, crowded with teenagers. My plain black jacket didn't stand out, I noticed with relief.  
>Once I got around the cafeteria, <strong>

"I think it's American word for were they eat their lunch." Hermione said, sounding slightly unsure. They had somehow made it so that anyone would be able to look quizzically at her and she would answer their gaze.

Harry found it hilarious.

"**Building three was easy to spot. A large black '3' was painted on a white square on the east corner. I felt my breathing gradually creeping toward hyperventilation as I approached the door. I tried holding my breath as I followed two unisex raincoats through the door.**

"She sure is paranoid about entering a new class." Ron noted, feeling sorry for the poor girl who felt she didn't fit in and had mini panic attacks over entering a new classroom.

"It's hard, entering a class that you've never met before halfway through a new term." Hermione answered back is if she knew most on the subject. And she did, sort of. In the beginning of their first year Hermione had felt she wouldn't fit in and almost was sent to the hospital wing for hyperventilating.

Everyone nodded along with both Ron and Hermione.

**The classroom was small. The people in front of me stopped just inside the door to  
>hang up their coats on a long row of hooks. I copied them. They were two girls, one a porcelain-colored blonde, the other also pale, with light brown hair. At least my skin wouldn't be a standout here.<br>I took the slip up to the teacher, a tall, balding man whose desk had a nameplate  
>identifying him as Mr. Mason. He gawked at me when he saw my name – <strong>

Harry grimaced. "Oh I feel so sorry for her. I hate it when people stare at my scar and gawk at my name. it's so frustrating!"

Ginny glances sympathically at Harry, feeling his anger. "I guess it would be annoying." She said, not knowing herself.

"You have no idea." Harry muttered.

"**Not an encouraging response - and of course I flushed tomato red. But at least he sent me to an empty desk at the back without introducing me to the class. It was harder for my new classmates to stare at me in the back, but somehow, they managed. I kept my eyes down on the reading list the teacher had given me. It was fairly basic: Bronte, Shakespeare, Chaucer, Faulkner.**

"Famous Muggle writers that Muggle schools use to teach. They wrote some amazing books." Hermione explained, after getting a quizzical look from Ginny while reading. It hadn't even been a look, more of a frown while she read the names.

It had been enough for Hermione though.

"**I'd already read everything. That was comforting... and boring. I wondered if my mom would send me my folder of old essays, or if she would think that was cheating. **

Hermione looked outraged the very idea. "Off course it's cheating! How could she even think to do that?"

Ron placed a calming hand on her shoulder. "Hermione," he spoke calmly and with authority. "It's only a book, a story. It's not real."

Hermione blushed but said nothing, still looking outraged that anyone could cheat at something to do with school.

"**I went through different arguments with her in my head while the teacher droned on.**

"And she doesn't even listen..." Hermione muttered angrily.

"**When the bell rang, a nasal buzzing sound, a gangly boy with skin problems and hair black as an oil slick leaned across the aisle to talk to me.  
>"You're Isabella Swan, aren't you?" He looked like the overly helpful, chess club type.<br>**

"Hey! What's wrong with chess?" Ron shouted.

"Muggles find people who play chess aren't as cool as wizards who play chess." Hermione explained.

"Your right Hermione, she is crazy!" Ron growled. Hermione got a look on her face that clearly said 'I'm always right!'

**"Bella," I corrected. Everyone within a three-seat radius turned to look at me.  
>"Where's your next class?" he asked.<br>I had to check in my bag." Um, Government, with Jefferson, in building six."  
>There was nowhere to look without meeting curious eyes.<br>"I'm headed toward building four, I could show you the way..."Definitely over-helpful.  
>"I'm Eric," he added.<br>I smiled tentatively. "Thanks."  
>We got our jackets and headed out into the rain, which had picked up. I could have<br>sworn several people behind us were walking close enough to eavesdrop. I hoped I wasn't getting paranoid.**

"I bet she isn't." Harry muttered darkly. Then he smiled. "At least no one eavesdropped on me!"

Hermione and Ron exchanged shifty glances that Harry didn't see. It seemed his best friends were hiding something from him.

**"So, this is a lot different than Phoenix, huh?" he asked.  
>"Very."<br>"It doesn't rain much there, does it?"  
>"Three or four times a year."<br>"Wow, what must that be like?" he wondered.  
>"Sunny," I told him.<br>"You don't look very tan."  
>"My mother is part albino."<br>He studied my face apprehensively, and I sighed. It looked like clouds and a sense of humor didn't mix. **

Fred and George yawned. "I've never heard a more boring conversation in the world." They agreed together.

The rest nodded their consent.

**A few months of this and I'd forget how to use sarcasm.  
>We walked back around the cafeteria, to the south buildings by the gym. Eric walked<br>me right to the door, though it was clearly marked.  
>"Well, good luck," he said as I touched the handle. "Maybe we'll have some other<br>classes together." He sounded hopeful.**

"Awwwwww!" Ginny gushed happily. "He has a crush on her! That is sooooooo sweet!"

"It is! And that's good, because it means she might fit in easier!" Hermione agreed.

The boys watched this exchange with amusement and some fear.

"**I smiled at him vaguely and went inside. The rest of the morning passed in about the same fashion. My Trigonometry **

Hermione missed the glance that got sent in her direction because she was dreamily staring off into space. "Ehem, Hermione!" George coughed, and she looked back at him, startled.

"What's trigonometry?" Fred asked.

"Errrr..." Hermione mumbled. "I'm pretty sure it's just another way of saying math. Or more specifically, the study of Triangular Properties. Abit like Ancient Runes."

"Who would want to study a triangle?" Harry snickered.

"**Teacher, Mr. Varner, who I would have hated anyway just because of the subject he taught, was the only one who made me stand in front of the class and introduce myself. I stammered, blushed, and tripped over my own boots on the way to my seat.**

there was silence were laughing should be. "What, no laughter over clumsiness?" Ron asked in disbelief.

"No, you don't laugh when one is embarrassed by a teacher and trips." Harry stated. "It's the law of 'Laughing at Clumsy People'!"

"And you don't laugh when said teacher does it on purpose." Ginny added.

"You guys are weird." Ron muttered. Harry and Ginny laughed at his comment.

**After two classes, I started to recognize several of the faces in each class. There was always someone braver than the others who would introduce themselves and ask me questions about how I was liking Forks. I tried to be diplomatic, but mostly I just lied a lot. At least I never needed the map.**

"I told you!" Ginny sang happily.

"**One girl sat next to me in both Trig and Spanish, and she walked with me to the  
>cafeteria for lunch. She was tiny, several inches shorter than my five feet four inches, but her wildly curly dark hair made up a lot of the difference between our heights. <strong>

"It sounds like you 'Mione!" Harry said affectionately.

"Maybe..." Hermione muttered.

**I couldn't remember her name, so I smiled and nodded as she prattled about teachers and classes. I didn't try to keep up.**

"It really does sound like you Hermione!" Ginny said in amazement.

Hermione nodded, looking fascinated. "Maybe, just maybe, the people in this book are based of us..."

"**We sat at the end of a full table with several of her friends, who she introduced to me. I forgot all their names as soon as she spoke them. They seemed impressed by her bravery in speaking to me. The boy from English, Eric, waved at me from across the room.**

"Awwwww, that's adorable!" Hermione and Ginny cooed.

"It is, isn't it?" Fred said jokingly. They stared at him, surprised at his agreement.

"Hes joking ladies." His twin said, ruining the moment. They shrugged and went on with their cooing.

**It was there, sitting in the lunchroom, trying to make conversation with seven curious  
>strangers, that I first saw them.<br>They were sitting in the corner of the cafeteria, as far away from where I sat as possible in the long room. There were five of them. They weren't talking, and they weren't eating, though they each had a tray of untouched food in front of them. They weren't gawking at me, unlike most of the other students, so it was safe to stare at them without fear of meeting an excessively interested pair of eyes. **

Harry whistled. "Damn, she's observative! She saw all that in one glance? Amazing..."

Ron laughed. "I think Harry's in love!"

Ginny blushed and looked away, frowning.

"**But it was none of these things that caught, and held, my attention.  
>They didn't look anything alike. Of the three boys, one was big - muscled like a<br>serious weight lifter, with dark, curly hair. Another was taller, leaner, but still muscular, and honey blond. The last was lanky, less bulky, with untidy, bronze-colored hair. He was more boyish than the others, who looked like they could be in college, or even teachers here rather than students.**

"Ooooh, they sound so fit!" Hermione giggled, nudging Ginny, who blushed and nodded.

Ron and Harry exchanged looks, they had never seen Hermione act like that. And Ron had never seen Ginny act like that. Surprisingly, Ron felt annoyed that some fictional characters had caught Hermione's attention so easily, just by a description of their looks.

Harry, on the other hand, was more distracted by the way Ginny's face looked under the dark red colour that went with her dark red hair. suddenly he saw himself in a few years time, with her at his side. He shook his head, shaking away the image.

_What's the matter with me? That's Ron's little SISTER!_ He screamed into his head silently.

"**The girls were opposites. The tall one was statuesque. She had a beautiful figure, the kind you saw on the cover of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue, the kind that made every girl around her take a hit on her self-esteem just by being in the same room. Her hair was golden, gently waving to the middle of her back. The short girl was pixielike, thin in the extreme, with small features. Her hair was a deep black, cropped short and pointing in every direction.**

"Whoa! They sound so hot!" Fred exclaimed, nudging his twin.

"Definatly! There's no way these are the vampires!" he laughed, and seeing Harry, Ron and Ginny's confused expression, he elaborated. "Vampires are very ugly, and are very conspicuous, every human would be stupid not to see that."

They nodded and hmm'ed. And Hermione pointed out, "Also, I doubt vampires would turn up at a American High School."

"**And yet, they were all exactly alike. Every one of them was chalky pale, the palest of all the students living in this sunless town. Paler than me, the albino. **

The twins smiled, they had seen an actual vampire up close, which was how they knew so much about them. "That sounds vampirey."

**They all had very dark eyes despite the range in hair tones. They also had dark shadows under those eyes - purplish, bruiselike shadows. As if they were all suffering from a sleepless night, or almost done recovering from a broken nose. Though their noses, all their features, were straight, perfect, angular.**

"Why would she descirbe them perfectly if they aren't going to be important to the story?" Ron asked.

Hermione smiled at him. "Maybe they ARE important to the story."

"What?"

Hermione shook her head and smiled again. She had a theory, it had started once this Bella person had begun decribing the people.

"**But all this is not why I couldn't look away.  
>I stared because their faces, so different, so similar, were all devastatingly, inhumanly beautiful. They were faces you never expected to see except perhaps on the airbrushed pages of a fashion magazine. Or painted by an old master as the face of an angel. It was hard to decide who was the most beautiful - maybe the perfect blond girl, or the bronze- haired boy.<strong>

"I think maybe they are vampires." Harry said thoughtfully.

Fred and George shook their heads. "No way, vampires would NEVER be described as beautiful, EVER! They are the ugliest creatures ever.

"But, no human could ever be that beautiful..." Hermione argued back.

Fred and George shrugged, unmoving from their beliefs. Harry, Ron and Ginny looked amused about the whole thing, seeing as they had never seen a vampire before.

"**They were all looking away - away from each other, away from the other students, away from anything in particular as far as I could tell. As I watched, the small girl rose with her tray - unopened soda, unbitten apple –-**

"She's observative, I'm sure no one else cares enough to notice so much so quickly." Harry muttered quietly, only Ginny heard him and she smiled secretly to herself.

"**And walked away with a quick, graceful lope that belonged on a runway. I watched, amazed at her lithe dancer's step, till she dumped her tray and glided through the back door, faster than I would have thought possible. My eyes darted back to the others, who sat unchanging.  
>"Who are they ?" I asked the girl from my Spanish class, whose name I'd forgotten.<br>As she looked up to see who I meant - though already knowing, probably, from my tone - suddenly he looked at her, the thinner one, the boyish one, the youngest, perhaps.  
>He looked at my neighbor for just a fraction of a second, and then his dark eyes flickered to mine.<br>He looked away quickly, more quickly than I could, though in a flush of embarrassment I dropped my eyes at once. In that brief flash of a glance, his face held nothing of interest - it was as if she had called his name, and he'd looked up in involuntary response, already having decided not to answer.**

Ginny gasped in amazement, a thought coming into her head. "Bloody Hell! What if this 'Non-Vampire'" she used her fingers as quotations to show that she was skeptical to Fred and Georges assumption. "Can read minds!"

Ron laughed. "Normal human Muggles can't read minds! Silly Ginny..."

"Ands it's legimens, not mind reading. The mind isn't a book you can read." Hermione corrected her, smiling kindly.

Ginny went red.

"**My neighbor giggled in embarrassment, looking at the table like I did.  
>"That's Edward and Emmett Cullen, and Rosalie and Jasper Hale. The one who left was Alice Cullen; they all live together with Dr. Cullen and his wife." She said this under her breath.<br>I glanced sideways at the beautiful boy, who was looking at his tray now, picking a bagel to pieces with long, pale fingers. His mouth was moving very quickly, his perfect lips barely opening. The other three still looked away, and yet I felt he was speaking quietly to them.**

They all laughed at that, not because it was particularly funny, but because it was just so absurd.

"**Strange, unpopular names, I thought. The kinds of names grandparents had. But maybe that was in vogue here - small town names? I finally remembered that my neighbor was called Jessica, a perfectly common name. There were two girls named Jessica in my History class back home.**

Hermione nodded. "They are quite old names. My Grandma's called Alice..."

"Right..." Harry muttered.

**"They are... very nice-looking." I struggled with the conspicuous understatement.  
>"Yes!" Jessica agreed with another giggle. "They're all together though - Emmett and Rosalie, and Jasper and Alice, I mean. And they live together." Her voice held all the shock and condemnation of the small town, I thought critically. But, if I was being honest, I had to admit that even in Phoenix, it would cause gossip.<br>"Which ones are the Cullens?" I asked. "They don't look related..."  
>"Oh, they're not. Dr. Cullen is really young, in his twenties or early thirties. They're all adopted. The Hales are brother and sister, twins - the blondes - and they're foster children."<br>"They look a little old for foster children."  
>"They are now, Jasper and Rosalie are both eighteen, but they've been with Mrs. Cullen since they were eight. She's their aunt or something like that."<br>"That's really kind of nice - for them to take care of all those kids like that, when they're so young and everything."  
>"I guess so," Jessica admitted reluctantly, and I got the impression that she didn't like the doctor and his wife for some reason. With the glances she was throwing at their adopted children, I would presume the reason was jealousy. "I think that Mrs. Cullen can't have any kids, though," she added, as if that lessened their kindness.<strong>

"OH MY God, that is so rude! Saying that someone's kindness isn't kind JUST because she can't have kids..." Harry yelled in outrage.

No one answered him, but they all exchanged glances that showed that they agreed with Harry.

"**Throughout all this conversation, my eyes flickered again and again to the table where the strange family sat. They continued to look at the walls and not eat.  
>"Have they always lived in Forks?" I asked. Surely I would have noticed them on one of my summers here.<br>"No," she said in a voice that implied it should be obvious, even to a new arrival like me. "They just moved down two years ago from somewhere in Alaska."  
>I felt a surge of pity, and relief. Pity because, as beautiful as they were, they were<br>outsiders, clearly not accepted. Relief that I wasn't the only newcomer here, and certainly not the most interesting by any standard.**

"I bet she is interesting..." Fred mused. George, Ron and Harry all laughed, winking at each other.

Ginny and Hermione stared at each other, slightly revolted by their brothers/friends actions.

"**As I examined them, the youngest, one of the Cullen's, looked up and met my gaze, this time with evident curiosity in his expression. As I looked swiftly away, it seemed to me that his glance held some kind of unmet expectation.  
>"Which one is the boy with the reddish brown hair?" I asked. I peeked at him from the corner of my eye, and he was still staring at me, but not gawking like the other students had today - he had a slightly frustrated expression. I looked down again.<br>"That's Edward. He's gorgeous, of course, but don't waste your time. He doesn't date. Apparently none of the girls here are good-looking enough for him." **

"Oh now he sounds INTERESTING!" Ginny giggled, copying the her brothers and friends. Hermione laughed, nodding her head between fits of hysteria.

Harry and Ron felt their stomachs lurch uncomfortably. _What is this? _

"**She sniffed, a clear case of sour grapes. I wondered when he'd turned her down.  
>I bit my lip to hide my smile. Then I glanced at him again. His face was turned away, but I thought his cheek appeared lifted, as if he were smiling, too.<br>After a few more minutes, the four of them left the table together. They all were  
>noticeably graceful - even the big, brawny one. It was unsettling to watch. The one named Edward didn't look at me again.<strong>

"Ohhhhhhhh sounds like she has a little crush on the hot guy!" Hermione and Ginny shouted together, high fiving.

"She gone crazy!" George whispered.

"**I sat at the table with Jessica and her friends longer than I would have if I'd been sitting alone. I was anxious not to be late for class on my first day. One of my new acquaintances, who considerately reminded me that her name was Angela, had Biology II with me the next hour. We walked to class together in silence. She was shy, too.**

Fred pouted. "Shy is BORING!"

"And this book is told from her point of view..." George added in, pretending to cry.

"**When we entered the classroom, Angela went to sit at a black-topped lab table exactly like the ones I was used to. She already had a neighbor. In fact, all the tables were filled but one. Next to the center aisle, I recognized Edward Cullen by his unusual hair, sitting next to that single open seat.  
>As I walked down the aisle to introduce myself to the teacher and get my slip signed, I was watching him surreptitiously. Just as I passed, he suddenly went rigid in his seat. He stared at me again, meeting my eyes with the strangest expression on his face - it was hostile, furious. I looked away quickly, shocked, going red again. I stumbled over a book in the walkway and had to catch myself on the edge of a table. The girl sitting there giggled.<strong>

The rest of the group laughed as well at the image that was in everyone's mind.

"**I'd noticed that his eyes were black - coal black.  
>Mr. Banner signed my slip and handed me a book with no nonsense about<br>introductions. I could tell we were going to get along. Of course, he had no choice but to send me to the one open seat in the middle of the room. I kept my eyes down as I went to sit by him, bewildered by the antagonistic stare he'd given me.  
>I didn't look up as I set my book on the table and took my seat, but I saw his posture change from the corner of my eye. He was leaning away from me, sitting on the extreme edge of his chair and averting his face like he smelled something bad. Inconspicuously, I sniffed my hair. It smelled like strawberries, the scent of my favorite shampoo. It seemed an innocent enough odor. <strong>

"Hes probably allergic to strawberries." Harry said. Everyone looked at him. "What, it's common!"

Ron patted his head. "Sure..."

**I let my hair fall over my right shoulder, making a dark curtain between us, and tried to pay attention to the teacher.  
>Unfortunately the lecture was on cellular anatomy, something I'd already studied. I took notes carefully anyway, always looking down. I couldn't stop myself from peeking occasionally through the screen of my hair at the strange boy next to me. During the whole class, he never relaxed his stiff position on the edge of his chair, sitting as far from me as possible. I could see his hand on his left leg was clenched into a fist, tendons standing out under his pale skin. This, too, he never relaxed. He had the long sleeves of his white shirt pushed up to his elbows, and his forearm was surprisingly hard and muscular beneath his light skin. He wasn't nearly as slight as he'd looked next to his burly brother.<br>The class seemed to drag on longer than the others. Was it because the day was finally coming to a close, or because I was waiting for his tight fist to loosen? It never did; he continued to sit so still it looked like he wasn't breathing. What was wrong with him? Was this his normal behavior? I questioned my judgment on Jessica's bitterness at lunch today. Maybe she was not as resentful as I'd thought.  
>It couldn't have anything to do with me. He didn't know me from Eve.<br>I peeked up at him one more time, and regretted it. He was glaring down at me again, his black eyes full of revulsion. As I flinched away from him, shrinking against my chair, the phrase if looks could kill suddenly ran through my mind.**

"That's a nice phrase..."

"**At that moment, the bell rang loudly, making me jump, and Edward Cullen was out of his seat. Fluidly he rose - he was much taller than I'd thought - his back to me, and he was out the door before anyone else was out of their seat.  
>I sat frozen in my seat, staring blankly after him. He was so mean. It wasn't fair. <strong>

"It's not fair?" Harry exclaimed. "It's not FAIR that some random guy seems to hate you? She's so SHALLOW! He could have a perfectly good reason as to why hes acting like that." He raged, scowling at the book.

Ginny smiled secretly. "Does that mean you don't think she's hot anymore?"

Harry just scowled, staring off into space.

"**I began gathering up my things slowly, trying to block the anger that filled me, for fear my eyes would tear up. For some reason, my temper was hardwired to my tear ducts. I usually cried when I was angry, a humiliating tendency.**

"OH MY God WE ARE LIKE TWINS!" Ginny and Hermione yelled, dancing around in circles.

"Very humiliating." Ron muttered, and Harry laughed.

**"Aren't you Isabella Swan?" a male voice asked.  
>I looked up to see a cute, baby-faced boy, his pale blond hair carefully gelled into orderly spikes, smiling at me in a friendly way. He obviously didn't think I smelled bad.<strong>

"I don't think you smell bad!" George smiled. He was looking at the book, which was in Ginny's hand, so it looked like he was flirting with Ginny. she looked green.

**"Bella," I corrected him, with a smile.  
>"I'm Mike."<br>"Hi, Mike."  
>"Do you need any help finding your next class?"<br>"I'm headed to the gym, actually. I think I can find it."  
>"That's my next class, too." He seemed thrilled, though it wasn't that big of a coincidence in a school this small.<br>We walked to class together; he was a chatterer - he supplied most of the conversation, which made it easy for me. He'd lived in California till he was ten, so he knew how I felt about the sun. It turned out he was in my English class also. He was the nicest person I'd met today.  
>But as we were entering the gym, he asked, "So, did you stab Edward Cullen with a pencil or what? I've never seen him act like that."<br>I cringed. So I wasn't the only one who had noticed. And, apparently, that wasn't Edward Cullen's usual behavior. I decided to play dumb.  
>"Was that the boy I sat next to in Biology?" I asked artlessly.<br>"Yes," he said. "He looked like he was in pain or something."  
>"I don't know," I responded. "I never spoke to him."<br>"He's a weird guy." Mike lingered by me instead of heading to the dressing room. **

"STALKER!" Ginny yelled. "A person who watched peoples every moves." She explained when her brothers sent her confused looks.

**"If I were lucky enough to sit by you, I would have talked to you."  
>I smiled at him before walking through the girls' locker room door. He was friendly and clearly admiring. But it wasn't enough to ease my irritation.<strong>

"She's just irritated because he won't speak to her?" Harry muttered angrily. Ginny crept over and sat down beside him, then took his hand.

Harry didn't notice, but Hermione did, and she grinned encouragement.

"**The Gym teacher, Coach Clapp,"**

"How original!" Hermione scoffed.

"**Found me a uniform but didn't make me dress down for today's class. At home, only two years of RE. were required. Here, P.E. was mandatory all four years. Forks was literally my personal hell on Earth.**

"She must be seriously clumsy." Ron stated.

"Wow, no way!" Fred and George said together sarcastically.

"**I watched four volleyball games running simultaneously. Remembering how many  
>injuries I had sustained - and inflicted - playing volleyball, I felt faintly nauseated.<br>The final bell rang at last. I walked slowly to the office to return my paperwork. The rain had drifted away, but the wind was strong, and colder. I wrapped my arms around myself.  
>When I walked into the warm office, I almost turned around and walked back out. Edward Cullen stood at the desk in front of me. I recognized again that tousled bronze hair. He didn't appear to notice the sound of my entrance. I stood pressed against the back wall, waiting for the receptionist to be free.<strong>

**He was arguing with her in a low, attractive voice. I quickly picked up the gist of the argument. He was trying to trade from sixth-hour Biology to another time - any other time.**

**I just couldn't believe that this was about me. It had to be something else, something that happened before I entered the Biology room. The look on his face must have been about another aggravation entirely. It was impossible that this stranger could take such a sudden, intense dislike to me. **

**The door opened again, and the cold wind suddenly gusted through the room, rustling the papers on the desk, swirling my hair around my face. The girl who came in merely stepped to the desk, placed a note in the wire basket, and walked out again. But Edward Cullen's back stiffened, and he turned slowly to glare at me - his face was absurdly handsome - with piercing, hate-filled eyes. **

"Over dramatic much?" Harry muttered.

"**For an instant, I felt a thrill of genuine fear, raising the hair on my arms. The look only lasted a second, but it chilled me more than the freezing wind. He turned back to the receptionist.  
>"Never mind, then," he said hastily in a voice like velvet. "I can see that it's impossible.<br>Thank you so much for your help." And he turned on his heel without another look at me, and disappeared out the door.  
>I went meekly to the desk, my face white for once instead of red, and handed her the signed slip.<br>"How did your first day go, dear?" the receptionist asked maternally.  
>"Fine," I lied, my voice weak. She didn't look convinced.<br>When I got to the truck, it was almost the last car in the lot. It seemed like a haven, already the closest thing to home I had in this damp green hole. I sat inside for a while, just staring out the windshield blankly. But soon I was cold enough to need the heater, so I turned the key and the engine roared to life. I headed back to Charlie's house, fighting tears the whole way there.**

"AND THAT WAS THE END OF THE ACTION PACKED CHAPTER!" Ginny yelled, snapping the book shut.

"You know, aside from all our sarcastic comments, that wasn't all that bad." Ron mused.

Harry agreed. "Yeah it wasn't bad. Except for the fact that she is an OVER DRAMATIC BIMBO!"

They laughed, once they had realized that he wasn't actually angry. "Hey, don't insult the Bimbos of this world!" Ginny giggled, holding up her hands in mock surrender. Too late she realized, that her hand was still enclosed around Harry's. he stared at it in bemusement.

"When did that happen?" he asked. Ginny blushed, making it look like her head was on fire.

"Erm..." she muttered, at a lose at what to say. Thankfully, Hermione came to the rescue.

"Why don't we all eat some food, before we start reading the second chapter!" she suggested. Her suggestion was met with cheers as everyone crowded around Ron, who had the food bag.

Ginny sent Hermione a mouthed, "Thank you."

"No problem, but you owe me now." Hermione mouthed back with a smile.

**A/N: OMG I'M SOOOOOOO SOOOOOO SORRY THAT I HAVE NOT UPDATED IN LIKE FOREVER! I knew that writing this would be hard, what with school and not being allowed my laptop, but I didn't think it would be THAT HARD! Seriously, I thought I would be at the 5****th**** chapter right now! Not the fucking (excuse the language) SECOND!**

**Please please PLEASE accept my apologies! I will try and update ASAP! Don't give up on me! Thank you dear FanFictioners!**

**READ AND REVIEW! It really helped me, seeing all those reviews and alerts and favorites! It's such a good feeling! Omg btw, the twilight chapters are SERIOUSLY long! Bye for now!**

**Eaglewings2peace xxx  
><strong>


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: **Okay there is no excuse for how LATE this chapter is. To be honest, I should be half way through the book at this pace, and I'm only on the second chapter, I'm disappointed in myself.**

**I gotta admit though, I did loose interest in this whole idea, but then I thought, if I can't finish this I wont be able to finish anything. (I know, exaggeration). I also lost interest in Twilight completely. But no excuses.**

**Disclaimer: HARRY POTTER and TWILIGHT do not belong to me, the story (although used a lot) is mine! Harry Potter belongs to JK ROWLING and Twilight belongs to STEPHANIE MEYER.**

After everyone had had their fill of food, and the food bag by Ron was pretty much empty (but not quite, which the boys were pleased about), they all sat around in a circle again. Hermione picked up the book.

"Who wants to read next?"

George lifted his hand in the air and bounced on the floor, saying, "Oohhh me, me, pick me!" Hermione dutifully ignored him.

"Anyone?" she asked, looking around. No one moved, apart from the slight lifting of shoulders as they giggled at George's antics. "No one?" Hermione sighed and tossed George the book, then picked up her wand and waved it threatening in his direction. "If you do anything…" she left the threat hanging.

He gulped and nodded, then opened the book and cleared his throat. "**Chapter Two: Open Book**."

"Arent all books open?" Ron asked. Ginny giggled.

"Unless their closed!" and she cracked up and started laughing. Everyone else exchanged worried looks over her head.

"What's happened to her?" George asked in horror. Fake horror.

Ginny sat up and rolled her eyes, still giggling. "Oh shut up and read."

Fred smirked. "That's rather a contradictory sentence, dear sister."

"READ!"

**The next day was better… and worse.**

"Can you have a bad and good day?" Harry asked curiously.

"Nope! They're either bad or good." Fred replied happily. "No exceptions!"

"What if your giving birth?" Hermione asked. The boys all looked at her in horror and confusion. "Well," she started, giggling. "Giving birth is painful and horrible so that would make it a bad day, but then having a child would make it a good day."

Fred and George thought about that. "No exceptions!" they shouted out eventually.

**It was better because it wasn't raining yet, though the clouds were dense and opaque.**

"I like rain. So that would make it a good and a good day." Ron said. The others laughed.

**Harry shook his head. "I can't believe she's basing her day on the _weather._" He muttered.**

**It was easier because I knew what to expect of my day. Mike came to sit by me in English, and walked me to my next class, with Chess Club Eric glaring at him all the while; that was nattering.**

"Ugh, it's like she's to delicate to walk by herself." Ginny muttered, and Hermione agreed.

"It's like she's a sheep. Being shepherded."

"Why the fascination with her?" Harry asked.

Ron smirked. "Well my dear friend, some guys like the boring, shy, emo type." Fred and George clapped him on the shoulder.

"Well said brother!"

"Couldn't have put it better myself!"

**People didn't look at me quite as much as they had yesterday. I sat with a big group at lunch that included Mike, Eric, Jessica, and several other people whose names and faces I now remembered. I began to feel like I was treading water, instead of drowning in it.**

**It was worse because I was tired; I still couldn't sleep with the wind echoing around the house. It was worse because Mr. Varner called on me in Trig when my hand wasn't raised and I had the wrong answer. It was miserable because I had to play volleyball, and the one time I didn't cringe out of the way of the ball, I hit my teammate in the head with it.**

They all started to crack up at that.

"I wanna meet this girl!" Ginny grinned.

Harry chuckled. "I wanna see her play sports!"

"And be all clumsy like." Ginny laughed, and Harry joined in.

**And it was worse because Edward Cullen wasn't in school at all.**

"I thought she didn't like him?" Ron said, although it sounded like a question. Harry and Ginny were still laughing over their clumsy people obsession.

"Well my dear brother," Fred began.

"We believe that this story is highly predictable," George continued.

"And that,"

"She will,"

"Fall in,"

"Love with,"

"EDWARD!" they yelled out together. "And have lots of pretty babies!"

"Right…" Ron muttered, shooting Hermione a worried look. "Why is everyone crazy?"

"George is reading." Was her response.

**All morning I was dreading lunch, fearing his bizarre glares. Part of me wanted to confront him and demand to know what his problem was. While I was lying sleepless in my bed, I even imagined what I would say. But I knew myself too well to think I would really have the guts to do it. I made the Cowardly Lion look like the terminator.**

"Who's the cowardly lion?"

"Who's the terminator?"

"Can a lion be cowardly?"

"No stupid their king of the beasts!"

"What beasts?"

"THE ANIMAL KINGDOM!"

The other four watched in amusement as the twins argued back and forth. Neither seemed to realize that they hadn't got an answer to their original questions.

**But when I walked into the cafeteria with Jessica — trying to keep my eyes from sweeping the place for him, and failing entirely — I saw that his four siblings of sorts were sitting together at the same table, and he was not with them.**

**Mike intercepted us and steered us to his table. Jessica seemed elated by the attention, and her friends quickly joined us. But as I tried to listen to their easy chatter, I was terribly uncomfortable, waiting nervously for the moment he would arrive. I hoped that he would simply ignore me when he came, and prove my suspicions false. He didn't come, and as time passed I grew more and more tense.**

**I walked to Biology with more confidence when, by the end of lunch, he still hadn't showed. Mike, who was taking on the qualities of a golden retriever, walked faithfully by my side to class.**

"I have a feeling I'm not going to like this Mike guy." Hermione muttered, and Ginny beamed at her.

"To right sister!" and they slapped a high five.

"Hey," Harry began. "I think that was the longest we've gone without an interruption."

Fred and George gasped. "Fair maiden! Say it isn't so!"

"What?"

**I held my breath at the door, but Edward Cullen wasn't there, either. I exhaled and went to my seat. Mike followed, talking about an upcoming trip to the beach.**

**He lingered by my desk till the bell rang. Then he smiled at me wistfully and went to sit by a girl with braces and a bad perm.**

"Hey Hermione," Harry asked. "What's a perm?"

Hermione stared at him. "I though you would know what a perm was!" when Harry shook his head, she sighed. "I am alone."

"You don't know what a perm is, do you?" Harry said slyly. The others snickered, trying to be discreet about it. Hermione flushed red.

"No! well… maybe. Ugh, whatever!" she mumbled. "GEORGE! READ!"

"Yes ma'am."

**It looked like I was going to have to do something about Mike, and it wouldn't be easy. In a town like this, where everyone lived on top of everyone else, diplomacy was essential. I had never been enormously tactful; I had no practice dealing with overly friendly boys.**

Ginny scoffed. "It's easy, just hex them." Harry felt uncomfortable with the fact that she had 'over friendly guys' to hex.

"Ginny," Hermione started. "She doesn't have magic."

"Obviously!" Ginny said. "Otherwise she would be able to sort out those over friendly boys!"

The boys, although uncomfortable with the topic, chuckled to themselves at Hermione's exasperated look and Ginny's pleased one.

**I was relieved that I had the desk to myself, that Edward was absent. I told myself that repeatedly. But I couldn't get rid of the nagging suspicion that I was the reason he wasn't there.**

"Ohhhh she's got a high opinion off herself." Harry muttered.

Fred gasped. "I've got it!" they looked at him expectantly. "He doesn't like her because her Dad… killed his parents! Yes! That's why he's adopted!"

George clapped his twin on the shoulder. "You are a genius my brother."

"I know." Fred beamed.

**It was ridiculous, and egotistical, to think that I could affect anyone that strongly. It was impossible. And yet I couldn't stop worrying that it was true.**

"It is." Fred said, still smiling.

"Isn't the vampire guy she falls in love with called Edward?" Ron asked.

Hermione nodded. "Yeah…"

"Maybe those are the vampires?" but he made it sound like more of a question.

Fred scoffed. "My dear brother, you haven't seen a vampire! No, there must be another vampire called Edward."

Ron grinned. "How about a bet?"

Fred narrowed his eyes. "Okay. Whose in?"

Everyone was. Ron, Harry and Ginny all bet that Edward was the vampire. Hermione, Fred and George bet it was a different Edward. This bet was also five galleons.

"By the end of this book, I'm going to be out of money." Ginny muttered.

**When the school day was finally done, and the blush was fading out of my cheeks from the volleyball incident,**

Harry and Ginny cackled. "I wonder what incident that was." Harry grinned, hilarious scenarios playing in his and Ginny's heads.

**I changed quickly back into my jeans and navy blue sweater. I hurried from the girls' locker room, pleased to find that I had successfully evaded my retriever friend for the moment. I walked swiftly out to the parking lot. It was crowded now with fleeing students. I got in my truck and dug through my bag to make sure I had what I needed.**

**Last night I'd discovered that Charlie couldn't cook much besides fried eggs and bacon.**

Ron gasped. "But that's great food!"

"Would you wanna eat it every day?" Hermione asked, ignoring Ginny's shaking head.

"Yep." Ron grinned.

**So I requested that I be assigned kitchen detail for the duration of my stay. He was willing enough to hand over the keys to the banquet hall. I also found out that he had no food in the house. So I had my shopping list and the cash from the jar in the cupboard labeled FOOD MONEY, and I was on my way to the Thriftway.**

"Whaa—" George started, but Hermione cut him off.

"It's a store."

**I gunned my deafening engine to life, ignoring the heads that turned in my direction, and backed carefully into a place in the line of cars that were waiting to exit the parking lot. As I waited, trying to pretend that the earsplitting rumble was coming from someone else's car,**

They all started chuckling, each one imagining different expressions on Bella's face.

**I saw the two Cullens and the Hale twins getting into their car. It was the shiny new Volvo. Of course. I hadn't noticed their clothes before — I'd been too mesmerized by their faces. Now that I looked, it was obvious that they were all dressed exceptionally well; simply, but in clothes that subtly hinted at designer origins.**

"Are designer clothes… good clothes?" Ginny asked.

Hermione scoffed. "More like overpriced."

"Oh…"

**With their remarkable good looks, the style with which they carried themselves, they could have worn dishrags and pulled it off.**

"Ugh." Ron wrinkled his nose. "Who would want that?"

**It seemed excessive for them to have both looks and money. But as far as I could tell, life worked that way most of the time. It didn't look as if it bought them any acceptance here.**

"That's just cold." Harry said, shaking his head.

"Ice cold." Ron agreed.

"Artic cold." Hermione added.

The others looked at the trio in baffled amusement.

**No, I didn't fully believe that. The isolation must be their desire; I couldn't imagine any door that wouldn't be opened by that degree of beauty.**

"So beauty can now open doors all by itself?" Fred said, then turned to George. "Why aren't doors opening themselves for us?"

George chuckled and shrugged. "We're too beautiful for the doors to handle."

"Nice pun." Ron chuckled.

"Yeah, 'doors' 'handles'. Pretty impressive." Harry agreed, smirking.

The twins nodded and beamed, and didn't seem to realize that they were being teased.

"What they don't know won't hurt them." Ginny muttered to Hermione, who was just about to tell them just that.

"What was that dear sister?"

"Nothing…"

**They looked at my noisy truck as I passed them, just like everyone else. I kept my eyes straight forward and was relieved when I finally was free of the school grounds.**

**The Thriftway was not far from the school, just a few streets south, off the highway. It was nice to be inside the supermarket; it felt normal. I did the shopping at home, and I fell into the pattern of the familiar task gladly.**

"I hate food shopping!" Hermione groaned, them reconsidered. "Actually I pretty much hate all shopping!"

Harry nodded in agreement. "The Dursley's make me do all the shopping, terrible terrible."

"I don't mind shopping in Diagon Alley…" Ginny said, mostly to herself.

**The store was big enough inside that I couldn't hear the tapping of the rain on the roof to remind me where I was.**

"Why does she hate the rain so?" Ron wailed dramatically.

**When I got home, I unloaded all the groceries, stuffing them in wherever I could find an open space. I hoped Charlie wouldn't mind. I wrapped potatoes in foil and stuck them in the oven to bake, covered a steak in marinade and balanced it on top of a carton of eggs in the fridge.**

All the boys adopted dreamy expressions on their faces at the mention of steak. "We should have steak tonight." Ron sighed.

"What is it with boys and food?" Hermione asked Ginny.

She shrugged. "I dunno. I mean, I like food but I'm not obsessed with it."

"What was that?" the males turned on the females dangerously.

"Nothing!" Ginny and Hermione squawked.

"That's what I thought…" George muttered, turning a page ferociously.

**When I was finished with that, I took my book bag upstairs. Before starting my homework, I changed into a pair of dry sweats, pulled my damp hair up into a pony-tail, and checked my e-mail for the first time. I had three messages.**

"What's an email?" Ron asked in a sing song voice.

"Mail that is online, which sends and arrives instantaneously." Hermione replied.

"Wow," he breathed. "Why don't we have that?"

"Because electronics go crazy around magic."

"Oh…"

**"Bella," my mom wrote…**

**Write me as soon as you get in. Tell me how your flight was. Is it raining? I miss you already. I'm almost finished packing for Florida, but I can't find my pink blouse. Do you know where I put it? Phil says hi.**

**Mom.**

"OH MY MERLIN I LOVE HER!" Ginny squealed. "That is the coolest message I have ever read in my entire life."

"I read it." George said. "Therefore you heard it."

That didn't stop Ginny squealing. "That is the coolest message I have ever HEARD!"

George turned to Fred. "I tried to save her."

"You did what you could, twin."

**I sighed and went to the next. It was sent eight hours after the first.**

"Why is she sighing? I would be laughing." Harry said. He was still annoyed about the whole Bella thing. He wasn't sure what he was annoyed about, but it annoyed him.

"Same." Ginny giggled.

**"Bella," she wrote…**

**Why haven't you e-mailed me yet? What are you waiting for?**

**Mom.**

"YOUR MUM!" Fred and George yelled then fell about laughing.

"I don't understand!" the others cried out at the same time.

**The last was from this morning.**

**Isabella,**

**If I haven't heard from you by 5:30 p.m. today I'm calling Charlie.**

"Brilliant, brilliant." Ron said. "What does she expect happened to her? She went to school."

Harry and Ginny cracked identical evil grins. "SHE'S CLUMSY!" they yelled.

**I checked the clock. I still had an hour, but my mom was well known for jumping the gun.**

**Mom,**

**Calm down. I'm writing right now. Don't do anything rash.**

**Bella.**

**I sent that, and began again.**

**Mom,**

**Everything is great. Of course it's raining. I was waiting for something to write about.**

**School isn't bad, just a little repetitive. I met some nice kids who sit by me at lunch.**

**Your blouse is at the dry cleaners - you were supposed to pick it up Friday.**

**Charlie bought me a truck, can you believe it? I love it. It's old, but really sturdy, which is good, you know, for me.**

**I miss you, too. I'll write again soon, but I'm not going to check my e-mail every five minutes. Relax, breathe. I love you.**

**Bella.**

"That was a very brief and to the point message." Hermione said. "Maybe that's why she can't make friends. She doesn't open herself up to anyone."

They stared at her. "Hermione's physiological analysis for the day." Ron exclaimed and everyone laughed as Hermione blushed.

**I had decided to read _Wuthering Heights _— the novel we were currently studying in English — yet again for the fun of it, and that's what I was doing when Charlie came home. I'd lost track of the time, and I hurried downstairs to take the potatoes out and put the steak in to broil.**

"Why would she read it _for fun_?" Hermione asked, a look of disgust on her face. Everyone was silent.

"Hermione doesn't read books for fun?" Ron asked, aghast.

"What is the world coming to?" Harry yelled, falling backwards.

Fred, George and Ginny were to shock to even speak.

Hermione blushed. "I'm just saying it's the worst book to read for fun."

"Says the girl who borrow that MASSIVE book for 'light' reading." Harry deadpanned, referring to a book from their first year.

Hermione shot him a look that shut him up and made everyone else laugh.

**"Bella?" my father called out when he heard me on the stairs.**

**Who else? I thought to myself. "Hey, Dad, welcome home."**

"That is true. Who else would it be?" Fred said.

"A ghost?" George suggested.

"A ghoul?"

"A VAMPIRE!" they said together.

**"Thanks." He hung up his gun belt and stepped out of his boots as I bustled about the kitchen. As far as I was aware, he'd never shot the gun on the job. But he kept it ready.**

"Boooorrr-riinnnngggg." Ron faux yawned. "What goods a please man if he doesn't use his gun?"

"POLICE man." Hermione tried for the thousandth time. Ron just waved it away.

**When I came here as a child, he would always remove the bullets as soon as he walked in the door. I guess he considered me old enough now not to shoot myself by accident, and not depressed enough to shoot myself on purpose.**

"Charlie!" George yelled.

"Remove," Fred continued.

"The,"

"BULLETS!"

"You know she just thought 'not depressed enough'," Harry started slowly, frowning. "So does that mean she's depressed?"

"You only just realized that?" Ron asked sarcastically.

"Nawwww."

**"What's for dinner?" he asked warily. My mother was an imaginative cook, and her experiments weren't always edible. I was surprised, and sad, that he seemed to remember that far back.**

"He's lonely." Ginny said. "Poor guy probably hasn't overcome the break up."

"I think it was more than a break up, Ginny." Hermione said.

"Whatever."

**"Steak and potatoes," I answered, and he looked relieved.**

"STEAK." The boys breathed, mouths watering, eyes glazed over.

**He seemed to feel awkward standing in the kitchen doing nothing; he lumbered into the living room to watch TV while I worked.**

"What's a TV?" George asked.

"I swear I've told you this before." Hermione frowned. "Erm… I can't be bothered to explain it now."

"Okay."

Harry giggled a manly giggle. "_Lumbered._" He said. "How can one _lumber_?"

Nobody answered.

**We were both more comfortable that way. I made a salad while the steaks cooked, and set the table.**

The guys all pulled disgusted faces. "Salad." They said it like a curse word and all crossed them against.

Hermione and Ginny watched in amusement and couldn't keep the chuckles at bay.

**I called him in when dinner was ready, and he sniffed appreciatively as he walked into the room.**

**"Smells good, Bell."**

**"Thanks."**

**We ate in silence for a few minutes. It wasn't uncomfortable.**

**Neither of us was bothered by the quiet. In some ways, we were well suited for living together.**

**"So, how did you like school? Have you made any friends?" he asked as he was taking seconds.**

**"Well, I have a few classes with a girl named Jessica. I sit with her friends at lunch. And there's this boy, Mike, who's very friendly. Everybody seems pretty nice." With one outstanding exception.**

"Edward Cullen." Harry said. "You are an outstanding exception."

**"That must be Mike Newton. Nice kid — nice family. His dad owns the sporting goods store just outside of town. He makes a good living off all the backpackers who come through here."**

**"Do you know the Cullen family?" I asked hesitantly.**

"Wow." Hermione said.

"I know." Ginny agreed, eyes wide with wonder.

"What?" Ron asked, the spokesman for the boys.

"She likes him already!"

"How do you know?"

"She's asking about the _family_." Hermione said, whispering 'family' like it was a special word. Ginny nodded along.

"Merlin help us all." Fred muttered.

**"Dr. Cullen's family? Sure. Dr. Cullen's a great man."**

**"They… the kids… are a little different. They don't seem to fit in very well at school."**

**Charlie surprised me by looking angry.**

**"People in this town," he muttered. "Dr. Cullen is a brilliant surgeon who could probably work in any hospital in the world, make ten times the salary he gets here," he continued, getting louder. "We're lucky to have him — lucky that his wife wanted to live in a small town. He's an asset to the community, and all of those kids are well behaved and polite. I had my doubts, when they first moved in, with all those adopted teenagers. I thought we might have some problems with them. But they're all very mature — I haven't had one speck of trouble from any of them. That's more than I can say for the children of some folks who have lived in this town for generations. And they stick together the way a family should — camping trips every other weekend… Just because they're newcomers, people have to talk."**

"Prejuiced against vampires!" Harry called.

"Yeah!"

"That's wrong!"

Ron and Ginny, the other two people who believed that the Cullen's – Edward – were vampires joined in.

"LIES!" George yelled.

"THEY'RE POSINING OUR MINDS!" Fred shouted.

**It was the longest speech I'd ever heard Charlie make. He must feel strongly about whatever people were saying.**

**I backpedaled. "They seemed nice enough to me. I just noticed they kept to themselves. They're all very attractive," I added, trying to be more complimentary.**

**"You should see the doctor," Charlie said, laughing. "It's a good thing he's happily married. A lot of the nurses at the hospital have a hard time concentrating on their work with him around."**

"But is he happily married?" Ginny asked, raising one eyebrow suggestively. Hermione wacked her arm.

"You are so weird Ginny Weasley." She said.

Ginny beamed. "Thank you!"

**We lapsed back into silence as we finished eating. He cleared the table while I started on the dishes. He went back to the TV, and after I finished washing the dishes by hand — no dishwasher — I went upstairs unwillingly to work on my math homework. I could feel a tradition in the making. That night it was finally quiet. I fell asleep quickly, exhausted.**

"A dishwasher is a machine that washes dishes." Hermione explained before anyone could ask.

"Oh we know." Fred said.

"Yeah, Dad told us about them one night." George added in.

Hermione sighed and looked skyward. "I can never win."

**The rest of the week was uneventful. I got used to the routine of my classes. By Friday I was able to recognize, if not name, almost all the students at school. In Gym, the kids on my team learned not to pass me the ball and to step quickly in front of me if the other team tried to take advantage of my weakness. I happily stayed out of their way.**

Harry and Ginny adopted sad expressions. Ginny actually wiped a tear away.

Edward Cullen didn't come back to school.

"No, Eddie, no!" Fred cried.

"School is important for your future!" George exclaimed.

"Not if you're a vampire!" Ron sang. (manly, off course.)

**Every day, I watched anxiously until the rest of the Cullens entered the cafeteria without him. Then I could relax and join in the lunchtime conversation. Mostly it centered around a trip to the La Push Ocean Park in two weeks that Mike was putting together. I was invited, and I had agreed to go, more out of politeness than desire. Beaches should be hot and dry.**

"So what? Beach parties are awesome!" Hermione yelled, punching the air.

"How do you know?" Ron asked.

"My parents take me to them all the time." Hermione shrugged. "I can invite you to one if you like?"

"YEAH!" Harry and Ron yelled.

**By Friday I was perfectly comfortable entering my Biology class, no longer worried that Edward would be there. For all I knew, he had dropped out of school. I tried not to think about him, but I couldn't totally suppress the worry that I was responsible for his continued absence, ridiculous as it seemed.**

"5 galleons says that he turns up next week." Fred said.

"Done." George said and they shook hands, grinning.

"Guys you're gonna run out of money if you continue." Ginny told them, rolling her eyes.

"No, because we will win!" they said, then looked at each other, eyes narrowing.

"Well I will win this bet." George smirked.

"No I will." Fred disagreed.

"Wanna bet?"

"Sur—"

"NO MORE BETTING."

"Yes ma'am."

**My first weekend in Forks passed without incident. Charlie, unused to spending time in the usually empty house, worked most of the weekend. I cleaned the house, got ahead on my homework, and wrote my mom more bogusly cheerful e-mail. I did drive to the library Saturday, but it was so poorly stocked that I didn't bother to get a card; I would have to make a date to visit Olympia or Seattle soon and find a good bookstore. I wondered idly what kind of gas mileage the truck got… and shuddered at the thought.**

"Gas mileage?" Ron frowned.

Hermione and Harry shrugged. "No idea."

**"Hermione doesn't know?" Ginny faux gasped, then rolled over giggling.**

**The rain stayed soft over the weekend, quiet, so I was able to sleep well.**

**People greeted me in the parking lot Monday morning. I didn't know all their names, but I waved back and smiled at everyone. It was colder this morning, but happily not raining. In English, Mike took his accustomed seat by my side. We had a pop quiz on _Wuthering Heights_. It was straightforward, very easy.**

"This book is boring." Fred yawned, and George pretended to snore, showing his agreement.

"Hopefully it will get more interesting… soon." Hermione said hopefully.

**All in all, I was feeling a lot more comfortable than I had thought I would feel by this point. More comfortable than I had ever expected to feel here.**

"YES!" Harry, Ron and Hermione yelled, jumping up and dancing. "WE WIN! WE WIN! WE WIN!"

The other three frowned and started fishing in their pockets for money. "Wait," Ginny said. "She hasn't said she's _happy._"

"Damn." Harry muttered as they sat down.

**When we walked out of class, the air was full of swirling bits of white. I could hear people shouting excitedly to each other. The wind bit at my cheeks, my nose.**

"SNOW!" everyone yelled excitedly, then looked at the sky expectantly. It was summer, so no snow was falling.

"Wow," Mike said. "It's snowing."

**I looked at the little cotton fluffs that were building up along the sidewalk and swirling erratically past my face.**

**"Ew." Snow. There went my good day.**

A communal gasp went up as George read those words.

"BLASPHEMY!"

**He looked surprised. "Don't you like snow?"**

**"No. That means it's too cold for rain." Obviously. "Besides, I thought it was supposed to come down in flakes — you know, each one unique and all that. These just look like the ends of Q-tips."**

**"Haven't you ever seen snow fall before?" he asked incredulously.**

**"Sure I have." I paused." On TV."**

"Whaattt?" Ginny asked. "No snow? then how does she know she doesn't like it?"

Hermione shrugged, looking surprised. "She doesn't like the cold?"

"Understatement of the century!" Harry exclaimed.

**Mike laughed. And then a big, squishy ball of dripping snow smacked into the back of his head.**

"SNOW BALL FIGHT!" Fred yelled and threw some dirt at Ron.

"Watch it!" Ron yelled, dusting himself down. Fred frowned.

"I thought it would be better." He said in way of explanation.

George cracked up, and reading was postponed while he calmed himself down.

**We both turned to see where it came from. I had my suspicions about Eric, who was walking away, his back toward us — in the wrong direction for his next class. Mike apparently had the same notion. He bent over and began scraping together a pile of the white mush.**

**"I'll see you at lunch, okay?" I kept walking as I spoke. "Once people start throwing wet stuff, I go inside."**

"No you stay outside and join in!"

**He just nodded, his eyes on Eric's retreating figure.**

**Throughout the morning, everyone chattered excitedly about the snow; apparently i was the first snowfall of the new year. I kept my mouth shut. Sure, it was drier than rain — until it melted in your socks.**

"Pessimistic much?" Ron asked. "She's more pessimistic than Harry!"

"Hey!" Harry yelled. "I'm not pessimistic!"

"Yes you are, mate."

**I walked alertly to the cafeteria with Jessica after Spanish. Mush balls were flying everywhere. I kept a binder in my hands, ready to use it as a shield if necessary.**

"I bet she'll use it and fall over in the process." Ginny grinned, and Harry joined in.

"I wish I understood their obsession." Ron muttered to Hermione.

"Same."

**Jessica thought I was hilarious, but something in my expression kept her from lobbing a snowball at me herself.**

"Psshhh, wimp."

**Mike caught up to us as we walked in the doors, laughing, with ice melting the spikes in his hair. He and Jessica were talking animatedly about the snow fight as we got in line to buy food. I glanced toward that table in the corner out of habit. And then I froze where I stood. There were five people at the table.**

"EDDIE'S BACK!" Fred yelled in delight and shoved his hands under George's nose. "Pay up!"

George muttered darkly as he fished in his pockets for the money. "Here" He thrust it in Fred's face.

"I win!"

**Jessica pulled on my arm.**

**"Hello? Bella? What do you want?"**

**I looked down; my ears were hot. I had no reason to feel self-conscious, I reminded myself. I hadn't done anything wrong.**

**"What's with Bella?" Mike asked Jessica.**

**"Nothing," I answered. "I'll just get a soda today." I caught up to the end of the line.**

**"Aren't you hungry?" Jessica asked.**

**"Actually, I feel a little sick," I said, my eyes still on the floor.**

"A guy can do that to her? One furious glance and she's sick of the sight of her." Harry muttered, shaking his head. The others agreed 100%.

**I waited for them to _get _their food, and then followed them to a table, my eyes on my feet.**

**I sipped my soda slowly, my stomach churning. Twice Mike asked, with unnecessary concern, how I was feeling.**

"Zap him!" Ginny yelled. "Zap the over helpful boy!"

I told him it was nothing, but I was wondering if I _should _play it up and escape to the nurse's office for the next hour.

**Ridiculous. I shouldn't have to run away.**

**I decided to permit myself one glance at the Cullen family's table. If he was glaring at me, I would skip Biology, like the coward I was.**

**I kept my head down and glanced up under my lashes. None of them were looking this way. I lifted my head a little.**

**They were laughing. Edward, Jasper, and Emmett all had their hair entirely saturated with melting snow. Alice and Rosalie were leaning away as Emmett shook his dripping hair toward them. They were enjoying the snowy day, just like everyone else — only they looked more like a scene from a movie than the rest of us.**

"See? That's how snow should be enjoyed!" Ron yelled, jumping up and down.

"Scene from a movie." Harry chuckled, shaking his head.

**But, aside from the laughter and playfulness, there was something different, and I couldn't quite pinpoint what that difference was. I examined Edward the most carefully.**

**His skin was less pale, I decided — flushed from the snow fight maybe — the circles under his eyes much less noticeable. But there was something more. I pondered, staring, trying to isolate the change.**

"She's so observative." Hermione said. "I wonder if she'd realize we were magical if we met her?"

No one answered.

**"Bella, what are you staring at?" Jessica intruded, her eyes following my stare.**

**At that precise moment, his eyes flashed over to meet mine. I dropped my head, letting my hair fall to conceal my face. I was sure, though, in the instant our eyes met, that he didn't look harsh or unfriendly as he had the last time I'd seen him. He looked merely curious again, unsatisfied in some way.**

**"Edward Cullen is staring at you," Jessica giggled in my ear.**

**"He doesn't look angry, does he?" I couldn't help asking.**

**"No," she said, sounding confused by my question. "Should he be?"**

**"I don't think he likes me," I confided. I still felt queasy. I put my head down on my arm.**

**"The Cullens don't like anybody…well, they don't notice anybody enough to like them. But he's still staring at you."**

**"Stop looking at him," I hissed.**

**She snickered, but she looked away. I raised my head enough to make sure that she did, contemplating violence if she resisted.**

"Hehehehe, clumsy violence…" Harry chuckled.

**Mike interrupted us then — he was planning an epic battle of the blizzard in the parking lot after school and wanted us to join.**

**Jessica agreed enthusiastically. The way she looked at Mike left little doubt that she would be up for anything he suggested. I kept silent. I would have to hide in the gym until the parking lot cleared**.

"She's so wierrdddd." George whined.

"Snow fights are awesome!"

"The best!"

**For the rest of the lunch hour I very carefully kept my eyes at my own table. I decided to honor the bargain I'd made with myself. Since he didn't look angry, I would go to Biology. My stomach did frightened little flips at the thought of sitting next to him again.**

"Crush signs!" Hermione sang.

"She's hasn't realized yet?" Ginny asked, shaking her head.

**I didn't really want to walk to class with Mike as usual — he seemed to be a popular target for the snowball snipers — but when we went to the door, everyone besides me groaned in unison. It was raining, washing all traces of the snow away in clear, icy ribbons down the side of the walkway.**

"NOOOOOOOOOO!" everyone yelled sadly.

"I hate it when that happens." Ron said sadly.

"When does it happen?" Hermione asked, and Ron got a shifty look in his eyes.

"Times."

**I pulled my hood up, secretly pleased. I would be free to go straight home after Gym. Mike kept up a string of complaints on the way to building four.**

**Once inside the classroom, I saw with relief that my table was still empty. Mr. Banner was walking around the room, distributing one microscope and box of slides to each table. Class didn't start for a few minutes, and the room buzzed with conversation. I kept my eyes away from the door, doodling idly on the cover of my notebook.**

"I wonder what she's doodling."

**I heard very clearly when the chair next to me moved, but my eyes stayed carefully focused on the pattern I was drawing.**

**"Hello," said a quiet, musical voice**.

"How can a voice be musical?" George asked, looking up from the book.

"He's always singing?" Fred offered, and they both started laughing.

"Helloooooo!" they sang in opera.

**I looked up, stunned that he was speaking to me. He was sitting as far away from me as the desk allowed, but his chair was angled toward me. His hair was dripping wet, disheveled — even so, he looked like he'd just finished shooting a commercial for hair gel. His dazzling face was friendly, open, a slight smile on his flawless lips. But his eyes were careful.**

**"My name is Edward Cullen," he continued. "I didn't have a chance to introduce myself last week. You must be Bella Swan."**

**My mind was spinning with confusion. Had I made up the whole thing? He was perfectly polite now. I had to speak; he was waiting. But I couldn't think of anything conventional to say.**

**"H-how do you know my name?" I stammered.**

"Everyone knows your name." Harry said, the 'duh' obvious in his voice. "HEY! She's like me!"

"I don't think she's quite as famous as you mate." Ron said, patting Harry on the shoulder.

**He laughed a soft, enchanting laugh.**

**"Oh, I think everyone knows your name. The whole town's been waiting for you to arrive."**

"Weirdo's." Ginny muttered. "Surely they more lives than that."

**I grimaced. I knew it was something like that.**

**"No," I persisted stupidly. "I meant, why did you call me Bella?"**

**He seemed confused. "Do you prefer Isabella?"**

**"No, I like Bella," I said. "But I think Charlie — I mean my dad — must call me Isabella behind my back — that's what everyone here seems to know me as," I tried to explain, feeling like an utter moron.**

"Make the conversation interesting!" Fred commanded, pointing his wand at the book. Nothing happened.

"Er Gred?" George said, paling. "Can you point that away from…" he left it hanging. Fred looked up and saw what he meant.

"Sorry Feorge!"

**"Oh." He let it drop. I looked away awkwardly.**

**Thankfully, Mr. Banner started class at that moment. I tried to concentrate as he explained the lab we would be doing today. The slides in the box were out of order. Working as lab partners, we had to separate the slides of onion root tip cells into the phases of mitosis they represented and label them accordingly. We weren't supposed to use our books. In twenty minutes, he would be coming around to see who had it right.**

"Why are Muggle lessons so boring?" Ginny asked, yawning. "Where's all the KABOOM and KAPOW?"

"I don't think we have explosions at Hogwarts." Hermione frowned, but Ginny grinned mischievously.

"Whens someones wand backfires you do." She winked, and Hermione face palmed.

"What have you done to her?" She asked the twins dramatically.

Fred and George grinned wicked grins. "No the question is, what _haven't_ we done to her?"

"Er, what?"

"Exactly!"

"Get started," he commanded.

**"Ladies first, partner?" Edward asked. I looked up to see him smiling a crooked smile so beautiful that I could only stare at him like an idiot.**

"_Crooked?_ How can a grin be crooked?" Harry asked, trying to do it. He ended up making a weird face that had everyone laughing.

Hermione and Ginny shrugged identical dreamy grins on their faces. "Some girls find it attractive."

Harry and Ron's stomachs turned at their expressions.

**"Or I could start, if you wish." The smile faded; he was obviously wondering if I was mentally competent.**

"A clumsy person whose nuts." Harry guffawed, "Oh now that's a combination I haven't seen."

**"I like fat clumsy people!" Ginny smirked. They then started laughing manically.**

**"No," I said, flushing. "I'll go ahead."**

**I was showing off, just a little. I'd already done this lab, and I knew what I was looking for. It should be easy. I snapped the first slide into place under the microscope and adjusted it quickly to the 40X objective. I studied the slide briefly.**

**My assessment was confident. "Prophase."**

"What is going on there?" George asked.

No one answered.

**"Do you mind if I look?" he asked as I began to remove the slide. His hand caught mine, to stop me, as he asked. His fingers were ice-cold, like he'd been holding them in a snowdrift before class. But that wasn't why I jerked my hand away so quickly. When he touched me, it stung my hand as if an electric current had passed through us.**

Ginny and Hermione squealed. "They're soul mates!"

**"I'm sorry," he muttered, pulling his hand back immediately.**

**However, he continued to reach for the microscope. I watched him, still staggered, as he examined the slide for an even shorter time than I had.**

**"Prophase," he agreed, writing it neatly in the first space on our worksheet. He swiftly switched out the first slide for the second, and then glanced at it cursorily.**

**"Anaphase," he murmured, writing it down as he spoke.**

**I kept my voice indifferent. "May I?"**

**He smirked and pushed the microscope to me.**

**I looked through the eyepiece eagerly, only to be disappointed. Dang it, he was right.**

**"Slide three?" I held out my hand without looking at him. He handed it to me; it seemed like he was being careful not to touch my skin again. I took the most fleeting look I could manage.**

**"Interphase." I passed him the microscope before he could ask for it. He took a swift peek, and then wrote it down. I would have written it while he looked, but his clear, elegant script intimidated me. I didn't want to spoil the page with my clumsy scrawl.**

"Even her writings clumsy…" Harry smiled to himself. Only Ginny heard, and she grinned back.

**We were finished before anyone else was close. I could see Mike and his partner comparing two slides again and again, and another group had their book open under the table.**

**Which left me with nothing to do but try to not look at him… unsuccessfully. I glanced up, and he was staring at me, that same inexplicable look of frustration in his eyes.**

**Suddenly I identified that subtle difference in his face.**

**"Did you get contacts?" I blurted out unthinkingly.**

**He seemed puzzled by my unexpected question. "No."**

**"Oh," I mumbled. "I thought there was something different about your eyes."**

**He shrugged, and looked away.**

**In fact, I was sure there was something different. I vividly remembered the flat black color of his eyes the last time he'd glared at me — the color was striking against the background of his pale skin and his auburn hair. Today, his eyes were a completely different color: a strange ocher, darker than butterscotch, but with the same golden tone.**

"What the hell? Vampires with gold eyes?" Ginny asked, frowning.

"Regretting your decision to go against us?" Fred asked, grinning.

"Never!"

**I didn't understand how that could be, unless he was lying for some reason about the contacts. Or maybe Forks was making me crazy in the literal sense of the word.**

**I looked down. His hands were clenched into hard fists again.**

**Mr. Banner came to our table then, to see why we weren't working. He looked over our shoulders to glance at the completed lab, and then stared more intently to check the answers.**

**"So, Edward, didn't you think Isabella should get a chance with the microscope?" Mr. Banner asked.**

**"Bella," Edward corrected automatically. "Actually, she identified three of the five."**

**Mr. Banner looked at me now; his expression was skeptical.**

**"Have you done this lab before?" he asked.**

**I smiled sheepishly. "Not with onion root."**

**"Whitefish blastula?"**

**"Yeah."**

**Mr. Banner nodded. "Were you in an advanced placement program in Phoenix ?"**

**"Yes."**

"Why is this so boring! I want action, a bit of explosions!" George exclaimed.

"Why are the classes so well behaved?" Fred asked. "What has the world come to?"

**"Well," he said after a moment, "I guess it's good you two are lab partners." He mumbled something else as he walked away. After he left, I began doodling on my notebook again.**

**"It's too bad about the snow, isn't it?" Edward asked.**

"YES!" everyone yelled, then started laughing.

**I had the feeling that he was forcing himself to make small talk with me. Paranoia swept over me again. It was like he had heard my conversation with Jessica at lunch and was trying to prove me wrong.**

**"Not really," I answered honestly, instead of pretending to be normal like everyone else. I was still trying to dislodge the stupid feeling of suspicion, and I couldn't concentrate.**

"Clumsy people are never normal!" Ginny declared.

**"You don't like the cold." It wasn't a question.**

**"Or the wet."**

**"Forks must be a difficult place for you to live," he mused.**

**"You have no idea," I muttered darkly.**

"Such a pessimist!" Ron exclaimed. "There's nothing wrong with cold or wet?"

"Hehehe, she wont like him." Hermione giggled, and they looked at her in confusion. "His skin is cold.

A collective "Aaahhhhhh." Went up.

**He looked fascinated by what I said, for some reason I couldn't imagine. His face was such a distraction that I tried not to look at it any more than courtesy absolutely demanded.**

**"Why did you come here, then?"**

**No one had asked me that — not straight out like he did, demanding.**

**"It's… complicated."**

**"I think I can keep up," he pressed.**

**I paused for a long moment, and then made the mistake of meeting his gaze. His dark gold eyes confused me, and I answered without thinking.**

**"My mother got remarried," I said.**

**"That doesn't sound so complex," he disagreed, but he was suddenly sympathetic.**

**"When did that happen?"**

**"Last September." My voice sounded sad, even to me.**

**"And you don't like him," Edward surmised, his tone still kind.**

**"No, Phil is fine. Too young, maybe, but nice enough."**

**"Why didn't you stay with them?"**

**I couldn't fathom his interest, but he continued to stare at me with penetrating eyes, as if my dull life's story was somehow vitally important.**

**"Phil travels a lot. He plays ball for a living." I half-smiled.**

**"Have I heard of him?" he asked, smiling in response.**

**"Probably not. He doesn't play _well_. Strictly minor league. He moves around a lot."**

**"And your mother sent you here so that she could travel with him." He said it as an assumption again, not a question.**

**My chin raised a fraction. "No, she did not send me here. I sent myself."**

**His eyebrows knit together. "I don't understand," he admitted, and he seemed unnecessarily frustrated by that fact.**

"Okaaayyy…" Fred said slowly. "Sorry I just felt we needed an interruption."

Hermione groaned and hid her face in her hands.

**I sighed. Why was I explaining this to him? He continued to stare at me with obvious curiosity.**

**"She stayed with me at first, but she missed him. It made her unhappy… so I decided it was time to spend some quality time with Charlie." My voice was glum by the time I finished.**

**"But now you're unhappy," he pointed out.**

**"And?" I challenged.**

**"That doesn't seem fair." He shrugged, but his eyes were still intense.**

**I laughed without humor. "Hasn't anyone ever told you? Life isn't fair."**

"But God is good." Harry said, nodding his head. "What?"

"You're so weird." Ginny muttered, shaking her head. Harry beamed.

"That's why you love me!"

Ginny stopped herself blushing, but Hermione caught her secret grin.

**"I believe I _have _heard that somewhere before," he agreed dryly.**

**"So that's all," I insisted, wondering why he was still staring at me that way.**

**His gaze became appraising. "You put on a good show," he said slowly. "But I'd be willing to bet that you're suffering more than you let anyone see."**

"She's not suffering!" Ron yelled. Harry and Hermione, realizing what he meant, started yelling as well.

"NO SUFFERING FOR BELLA!"

"Bella loves Forks!"

The other started laughing at Hermione's comment. "Yeah, forks are her favourite utensil." Ginny giggled. Fred and George were laughing too much to say anything. Hermione blushed furiously, but grinned.

**I grimaced at him, resisting the impulse to stick out my tongue like a five-year-old, and looked away.**

"I always stick my tongue out." Ginny said proudly. "Best defence!"

"You're a 5 year old my dear sister!" Fred exclaimed and Ginny, true to her word, stuck her tongue out.

"I CONQUER!" George yelled.

**"Am I wrong?"**

**I tried to ignore him.**

**"I didn't think so," he murmured smugly.**

"I bet that sounded weird in his sing song voice!" Fred laughed.

"IIIIIIII dooooonntttt thiinnkkkkk sooooooo!" George sang smugly, and the others laughed at his attempts.

**"Why does it matter to _you _?" I asked, irritated. I kept my eyes away, watching the teacher make his rounds.**

**"That's a very good question," he muttered, so quietly that I wondered if he was talking to himself.**

**However, after a few seconds of silence, I decided that was the only answer I was going to get. I sighed, scowling at the blackboard.**

**"Am I annoying you?" he asked. He sounded amused.**

**I glanced at him without thinking… and told the truth again." Not exactly. I'm more annoyed at myself. My face is so easy to read — my mother always calls me her open book." I frowned.**

"And the chapter title is reveled!" Hermione announced. "It's about time."

**"On the contrary, I find you very difficult to read." Despite everything that I'd said and he'd guessed, he sounded like he meant it.**

"Mind reader alert!" Ron exclaimed, pointing at the book.

"2 galleons he's an actual mind reader." Harry said. Ron shook his hand.

"Done."

"On the contrary, I believe it's called legemency." Fred said in a faux scholarly voice.

"I thought it was occulmency?" George replied, frowning.

"Either one!"

**"You must be a good reader then," I replied.**

**"Usually." He smiled widely, flashing a set of perfect, ultrawhite teeth.**

**"Wouldn't that mean he's a bad reader?"**

**Mr. Banner called the class to order then,**

"ORDER! ORDER IN THE COURT!" Ginny yelled so suddenly that Ron screamed and toppled backwards.

"That wasn't funny." He glared at Ginny.

"You loved it!"

"Brother," George said.

"I didn't realize you screamed so much like a girl." Fred finished, and George turned to him in faux surprise and delight.

"You took the words right outta my mouth!"

**and I turned with relief to listen. I was in disbelief that I'd just explained my dreary life to this bizarre, beautiful boy who may or may not despise me.**

**He'd seemed engrossed in our conversation, but now I could see, from the corner of my eye, that he was leaning away from me again, his hands gripping the edge of the table with unmistakable tension.**

**I tried to appear attentive as Mr. Banner illustrated, with transparencies on the overhead projector, what I had seen without difficulty through the microscope. But my thoughts were unmanageable.**

**When the bell finally rang, Edward rushed as swiftly and as gracefully from the room as he had last Monday. And, like last Monday, I stared after him in amazement.**

"Or she's staring at his butt." Ginny snickered.

"GINERVA!"

**Mike skipped quickly to my side and picked up my books for me. I imagined him with a wagging tail.**

George jumped up, dropped the book and started skipping in a circle, singing. "La la la la la la!"

"I'm imagining you with a wagging tail." Fred laughed. "Would you like a dog one or a dragon one?"

"Dragon, to show everyone I'm manly." George replied between singing.

**"That was awful," he groaned. "They all looked exactly the same. You're lucky you had Cullen for a partner."**

**"I didn't have any trouble with it," I said, stung by his assumption.**

"Sexist puppy." Hermione frowned and the others laughed.

**I regretted the snub instantly. "I've done the lab before, though," I added before he could get his feelings hurt.**

"She is the reason women are still being treated differently!" Ginny exclaimed.

"Sexism!" Hermione agreed.

**"Cullen seemed friendly enough today," he commented as we shrugged into our raincoats. He didn't seem pleased about it.**

**I tried to sound indifferent. "I wonder what was with him last Monday."**

**I couldn't concentrate on Mike's chatter as we walked to Gym, and P.E. didn't do much to hold my attention, either. Mike was on my team today. He chivalrously covered my position as well as his own, so my woolgathering was only interrupted when it was my turn to serve; my team ducked warily out of the way every time I was up.**

Harry and Ginny chuckled at that and adopted identical dreamy expressions.

**The rain was just a mist as I walked to the parking lot, but I was happier when I was in the dry cab. I got the heater running, for once not caring about the mind-numbing roar of the engine. I unzipped my jacket, put the hood down, and fluffed my damp hair out so the heater could dry it on the way home.**

**I looked around me to make sure it was clear. That's when I noticed the still, white figure. Edward Cullen was leaning against the front door of the Volvo, three cars down from me, and staring intently in my direction. I swiftly looked away and threw the truck into reverse, almost hitting a rusty Toyota Corolla in my haste.**

"Never give a clumsy person a car." Ginny said seriously.

"It's the second rule of clumsy people united." Harry added, nodding his head.

"I WANNA MEET HER!" they yelled at the book.

**Lucky for the Toyota, I stomped on the brake in time. It was just the sort of car that my truck would make scrap metal of. I took a deep breath, still looking out the other side of my car, and cautiously pulled out again, with greater success. I stared straight ahead as I passed the Volvo, but from a peripheral peek, I would swear I saw him laughing.**

"Yeaaaahhhh buddy." Harry cheered.

George looked up. "And that was the end of that chapter!" he threw the book in the air. "HALLELUJAH!"

Hermione caught the book and set it down on floor. The others were dancing around and cheering, Ron throwing the remaining food up in the air and the others tried to catch it.

Just then Percy came up to them, a disapproving look on his face. "You missed lunch.

**A/N: I hope you enjoyed the chapter, I tried to put in as much banter as possible.**

**I don't mean any offence to clumsy people, or people who like twilight. I am clumsy and I like twilight, but it's easier for them to be skeptical. Stay tuned for the next chapter that will be up soon. Not sure when though!**

**I wont be doing any filler chapters.**

**Thank You for everyone who reviewed, favorited, and just plain read it! It means a lot to me, and you guys are the reason you got this update. A round of applause? *clapping and whistling***

**PLEASE REVIEW!**

Xoxo


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: people have been telling me not to bring in Percy and not to worry he isn't joining! I have nothing against him but I always thought it was weird when people were brought in to read after they've got through some chapters already! That would mean thy have to start over again, right? Anyways, I'm babbling.

I'm trying to be better with my updates, so I'm glad to announce that the FOURTH chapter (or third if you're going by the Twilight chapters) is HERE!

**Disclaimer: I do not own HARRY POTTER or any of the lines (which is the whole book) from TWILIGHT. They belong to the amazing JK. ROWLING and STEPHANIE MEYER.**

Fred, with lightning fast reflexes, hid the book behind him as soon as Percy spoke. How long had he been here? Had he heard them reading? Was he going to _join _them? These questions ran through everyone's heads as they looked at Percy guiltily.

"What are you all doing here?" Percy asked, frowning as Ginny blushed as red as her hair.

"Hanging out." George said, shrugging nonchalantly, the picture of indifference and innocence. "Something you wouldn't know about dear brother."

Percy flushed and started to walk away. "Mum wanted to know if you wanted lunch, but seeing the scattered food, I'm guessing no." Ron gave an indignant gasp.

"Excuse me? No lunch? Have you not known me for the past fourteen years?" everyone started giggling, except the guys. They _manly _giggled. Or chuckled.

"Well are you going to come and get it?" Percy challenged. Ron stood up straight and puffed out his chest.

"You betcha." He started walking backs towards his house, and then turned around. "You guys coming or what?"

Fred quickly hid the book behind a large oak before following the others. "What was all that about?" Harry muttered to him, lagging behind the others. Others, meaning, Percy.

"Oh some long standing argument they've had. Something about too much food…" Fred frowned. "Actually no, maybe not enough food. I have no idea. You know how Percy is."

"Mmmmm."

An hour later, the six full and groaning friends made their way to the alcove of trees. Where, off course, they ran into another problem.

"I can't believe you can't remember which tree you hid it in!" Ginny exclaimed, as she looked around another tree.

"I do remember! It was a large oak!" Fred said defensively.

"THERE ALL BLOODY LARGE OAKS!"

Finally they found it and Harry flipped to the correct chapter. "Who wants to read?" he asked, and was met with silence.

"Why don't you, mate?" Ron suggested.

"But I'm blind!" Harry gestured to his glasses, but when nobody nobly volunteered, he started to read.

**"Chapter Three. Phenomenon,**

**"When I opened my eyes in the morning, something was different."**

"It was sunny?" Ron suggested.

"You were happy?" Ginny asked.

"You realized you were a man?" Fred added in. Everyone stared at him, even his twin. "What?"

"There was a line," Hermione said, drawing an imagery line in the air. "And you crossed it." she mimed crossing a line and then dying.

Everyone started giggling.

**"It was the light. It was still the gray-green light of a cloudy day in the forest, but it was clearer somehow. I realized there was no fog veiling my window. I jumped up to look outside, and then groaned in horror.**

**A fine layer of snow covered the yard,"**

Harry had to pause because everyone started yelling happily. "Snow! Snow! SNOW!"

"WE LOVE YOU SNOW!"

"WOOOOOOH! SNOW!"

"I'M YOUR NUMBER ONE FAN!"

"NO I AM!"

"SHUT UP! I WAS BORN INTO THIS WORLD FIRST!"

"PROVE IT!"

"SHUT UP!" Ginny yelled at her brothers with so much force that all the dancing people stopped dancing. "I'm snow's number one fan, so there." She crossed her arms and grinned smugly as the twins gaped at her.

"Close your mouth you're not a fish."

**"dusted the top of my truck, and whitened the road.**

**But that wasn't the worst part. All the rain from yesterday had frozen solid — coating the needles on the trees in fantastic, gorgeous patterns, and making the driveway a deadly ice slick."**

"I love it when that happens." Harry chuckled gleefully. "Dudley always slides on them into the road. Squealing like a pig…"

Hermione and Ron chuckled as well, since they had met (or seen) Dudley before and could imagine the site.

**"I had enough trouble not falling down when the ground was dry; it might be safer for me to go back to bed now."**

"NO!" Ginny screamed in dismay, making the others jump. "SHE MUST GO OUTSIDE AND FALL OVER!"

"YEAH! CLUMSY PEOPLE RULE!" Harry agreed and they slapped high-fives. Ginny sent Hermione a secret smile, and she winked back.

It was working.

**"Charlie had left for work before I got downstairs. In a lot of ways, living with Charlie was like having my own place, and I found myself reveling in the aloneness instead of being lonely."**

"I hate it when my parents leave the house and leave me." Hermione muttered. "I always turn on all the lights and put some music on loud, then hide under my duvet with my wand."

The others chuckled at the mental image she had provided for them.

**"I threw down a quick bowl of cereal and some orange juice from the carton."**

Ron made a sound of disgust. "What kind of breakfast is that?"

"Maybe she worries about her weight?" Ginny suggested, not that she ever worried about hers. She liked eating, like Ron, and suspected that it was because she had grown up with six older brothers.

**"I felt excited to go to school, and that scared me."**

Fred pretended to faint, and George started screaming; "KILL IT BEFORE IT LAYS EGGS!"

**"I knew it wasn't the stimulating learning environment I was anticipating,"**

Fred sat up and put on a relieved expression. "Oh, thank Merlin's underpants."

"Thank Merlin's gym shorts."

"Thank Merlin's left sock."

"Thank Merlin's _right _sock!"

"Oh, good one George! Let's add it to the repertoire!" Fred grinned, and they slapped high fives. Ginny turned to Hermione.

"It gets better."

"Does it?"

Harry and Ron laughed at the comical look of horror on Hermione's face.

**"or seeing my new set of friends. If I was being honest with myself, I knew I was eager to get to school because I would see Edward Cullen. And that was very, very stupid."**

Hermione and Ginny started giggling. "No it's not! He's smokin'!"

"Like a BBQ!"

They blushed and giggled some more.

**"I should be avoiding him entirely after my brainless and embarrassing babbling yesterday. And I was suspicious of him; why should he lie about his eyes? I was still frightened of the hostility I sometimes felt emanating from him, and I was still tongue tied whenever I pictured his perfect face. I was well aware that my league and his league were spheres that did not touch."**

"And yet they do." Hermione pronounced dramatically. All the guys of the grou looked at her in confusion.

"How do you know?" Ron asked.

"Because it's obvious! He's the vampire, and she falls in love with him, and vice versa!" Ginny exclaimed before Hermione could even open her mouth.

Fred and George exchanged identical looks, and then said to the girls, "You just don't know vampires."

"WE'RE RIGHT!"

**"So I shouldn't be at all anxious to see him today. It took every ounce of my concentration to make it down the icy brick driveway alive. I almost lost my balance when I finally got to the truck, but I managed to cling to the side mirror and save myself."**

Harry had to stop reading because he was laughing too much. Ginny was in hysterics on the floor, and they couldn't decide whether she was laughing or crying. Both had tears streaming down their faces.

"She didn't even fall." George said amazement.

"Mental… image…" Harry gasped out.

Reading was put temporarily on hold while the two sorted themselves out. Harry kept emitting manly giggles after every sentence, and Ginny was laughing silently next to him.

**"Clearly, today was going to be nightmarish."**

"That's not even a word." Hermione muttered, frowning at the book.

Harry giggled and continued.

**"Driving to school, I distracted myself from my fear of falling and my unwanted speculations about Edward Cullen by thinking about Mike and Eric, and the obvious difference in how teenage boys responded to me here. I was sure I looked exactly the same as I had in Phoenix. Maybe it was just that the boys back home had watched me pass slowly through all the awkward phases of adolescence and still thought of me that way. Perhaps it was because I was a novelty here, where novelties were few and far my crippling clumsiness was seen as endearing rather than pathetic, casting me as a damsel in distress."**

"I would totally be friends with her just for her clumsiness." Harry said loyally. "She has no other personality."

Ginny nodded and giggled. "She had some personality though."

"I haven't seen it."

"Harry!"

**"Whatever the reason, Mike's puppy dog behavior and Eric's apparent rivalry with him were disconcerting. I wasn't sure if I didn't prefer being ignored."**

"I'd much rather be ignored." Ginny muttered to Hermione. Harry overheard, and his stomach turned.

**"My truck seemed to have no problem with the black ice that covered the roads. I drove very slowly, though, not wanting to carve a path of destruction through Main Street."**

This made everyone, not just the clumsy obsessed people, laugh.

"She has a way with words." Ron grinned.

"Just not outside her head." Fred muttered to George, who nodded.

**"When I got out of my truck at school, I saw why I'd had so little trouble. Something silver caught my eye, and I walked to the back of the truck — carefully holding the side for support — to examine my tires."**

"What are-"

"Seriously Ronald?" Hermione asked in exasperation. "You don't know what tires are?"

Ron blushed. "Never mind. Stupid question."

**"There were thin chains crisscrossed in diamond shapes around them. Charlie had gotten up who knows how early to put snow chains on my truck."**

Fred looked at uncomfortably at Hermione before opening his mouth. "What are snow chains?"

"A mesh of metal chains that are fitted around tires to give extra traction in snow." Hermione recited. Ron stared at her in shock.

"What? So you don't bite his head off?"

"He didn't ask a stupid question!"

**"My throat suddenly felt tight. I wasn't used to being taken care of, and Charlie's unspoken concern caught me by surprise."**

"Awwwww!" the girls cooed. "That's so nice of Charlie!"

"Has she never been taken care of?" Ron asked in exasperation.

Harry sighed and shook his head.

**"I was standing by the back corner of the truck, struggling to fight back the sudden wave of emotion the snow chains had brought on, when I heard an odd sound."**

"Aww-" they started to coo again, but George cut them off.

"If I hear one more word about how 'sweet' or 'adorable' she is, I swear to Merlin, I will hex both of you into the next school year." He said dangerously, bringing his wand out to emphasize his point.

Hermione and Ginny shut their mouths. The boys looked at him in shock.

"What? Someone had to do it." George shrugged. "I was manly and did it."

Fred scoffed. "Manly? I'm the manly one in this relationship."

"What relationship?" Harry asked, unsure if he wanted an answer.

"TWIN RELATIONSHIP!" they shouted in union.

**"It was a high-pitched screech, and it was fast becoming painfully loud. I looked up, startled.**

**I saw several things simultaneously. Nothing was moving in slow motion, the way it does in the movies. Instead, the adrenaline rush seemed to make my brain work much faster, and I was able to absorb in clear detail several things at once.**

**Edward Cullen was standing four cars down from me, staring at me in face stood out from a sea of faces, all frozen in the same mask of shock. But of more immediate importance was the dark blue van that was skidding, tires locked and squealing against the brakes, spinning wildly across the ice of the parking lot.**

Hermione started breathing heavily. "Please don't die, please don't die, please don't die." She muttered quietly to herself.

Fred and George were muttering quietly as well, but less kind towards Bella. "Please get injured, please get injured, please get injured."

Ginny looked at both of them. "Why do you guys hate Bella so much?"

"We don't hate her." Fred said.

"Hate is a strong word." George said.

**"It was going to hit the back corner of my truck, and I was standing between them. I didn't even have time to close my before I heard the shattering crunch of the van folding around the truck bed, something hit me, hard, but not from the direction I was expecting."**

Hermione screamed, and Harry dropped the book in shock, rubbing his abused ears. "Hermione." He said, irritated. "I'm sitting right next to you! Scream quieter next time."

Hermione blushed. "Sorry. It just happened, you know? My opened, and a scream just appeared out of nowhere. Like a tree, or a massive gummy bear."

Ginny looked at Harry in shocked disbelief. "Is she okay?"

Ron nodded, and Harry shrugged.

"Yeah she's fine."

"Define 'okay'."

Each one said something different.

"I'm sorry I asked." Ginny muttered, shaking her head at their weird yet wonderful friendship.

**"My head cracked against the icy blacktop,and I felt something solid and cold pinning me to the ground. I was lying on the pavement behind the tan car I'd parked next to. But I didn't have a chance to notice anything else, because the van was still coming."**

"FOR MERLIN'S SAKE STOP HYPERVENTILATING IN MY EAR!" Harry yelled, and Hermione stopped. "Thanks."

"No problem." Hermione said coolly, and then sent a wink at Ginny. The plan was working.

**"It had curled gratingly around the end of the truck and, still spinning and sliding, was about to collide with me again. A low oath made me aware that someone was with me, and the voice was impossible not to recognize. Two long, white hands shot out protectively in front of me, and the van shuddered to a stop a foot from my face, the large hands fitting providentially into a deep dent in the side of the van's body."**

"IT'S EDWARD!" The girls screamed as one. "HE'S SAVING HER FROM DEATH!"

"Remind me never again to read with girls." Ron said Harry.

"When are we ever going to be in this situation again?" Harry asked incredulously.

"Good point."

Fred butted in, a thoughtful look on his face. "I don't know, I think this is a great way to see how a girls mind works."

"Exactly my dear brother," George agreed. "And now we can use these moves on them."

The boys laughed, unaware that Hermione and Ginny had been listening to every word they had said.

"_Ex_cuse me?"

Harry, Ron, Fred and George paled.

**"Then his hands moved so fast they blurred. One was suddenly gripping under the body of the van, and something was dragging me, swinging my legs around like a ragdoll's, till they hit the tire of the tan car. A groaning metallic thud hurt my ears, and the van settled, glass popping, onto the asphalt — exactly where, a second ago, my legs had been."**

Everyone gaped at the book in disbelief. "Is he inhumanly strong?" Fred asked.

"Bitten by a radioactive spider?" Hermione wondered.

"Steroids much?" George rolled her eyes.

"HE'S OBVIOUSLY A VAMPIRE!" the three who had bet that Edward was a vampire yelled.

"YOU HAVE NO PROOF!" the twins yelled back.

**"It was absolutely silent for one long second before the screaming began. In the abrupt bedlam, I could hear more than one person shouting my name. But more clearly than all the yelling, I could hear Edward Cullen's low, frantic voice in my ear."**

"A low voice is sexy voice." Ginny giggled.

"You should not be thinking of sexy voices, you're thirteen!" Fred said in serious voice, which he saved for his little sister.

"And you won't be thinking of sexy voices when you're thirty either!" George added in.

Ginny nodded. "I won't." The twins brightened. "I will definitely be married by then, so I would be hearing a sexy voice, not thinking of it. Obviously!"

The twins bright looks dimmed and turned mischievous. "Who says you're going to have a boyfriend, let along get married?"

"YOU DON'T CONTROLL MY LIFE!" Ginny yelled. "And you leave Hogwarts in two years, so what are ya gonna do?"

They were thoughtful for a minute. "It goes down to Ron."

"We trust you will do a good job of protecting our little sis's virtue." They looked at Ron solemnly.

"I promise." Ron answered back, looking as equally serious.

Hermione leaned towards Harry and whispered in his ear. "I feel sorry for Ginny."

"Mmm…"

Ginny was looking angrily at the ground, refusing to look at anyone.

**"Bella? Are you all right?"**

**"I'm fine." My voice sounded strange. I tried to sit up, and realized he was holding me against the side of his body in an iron grasp.**

**"Be careful," he warned as I struggled. "I think you hit your head pretty hard."**

**I became aware of a throbbing ache centered above my left ear.**

**"Ow," I said, surprised."**

Ginny laughed. "I love it when that happens, to other people obviously. To me it's just bloody annoying." She had overcome her anger at her overbearing brothers.

"She doesn't seem hurt…" Hermione mused.

**"That's what I thought." His voice, amazingly, sounded like he was suppressing laughter."**

"Probably because she looks funny." Fred chuckled.

For once, George wasn't following his brothers train of thought. "Um… how?"

Fred sighed in exasperation. "Because she only realized she was hurt when he told her, and she's acting stupid about it."

George's face brightened, and he laughed. "I see you my brother!"

"That's what I'm talking about!" they slapped high fives, laughing manically.

**"How in the…" I trailed off, trying to clear my head, get my bearings. "How did you get over here so fast?"**

**"I was standing right next to you, Bella," he said, his tone serious again.**

"NO YOU WEREN'T!" Ginny yelled.

"YOU'RE ARE A VAMPIRE!" Ron cried.

"YOU'RE SUPER SPEEDY!" Harry exclaimed.

"It's all lies!" the three people opposing them called out, hissing and booing. Ron leaned over and whispered in Harry's ear,

"I can't wait to prove Hermione wrong." Harry nodded, grinning.

"It's going to be a beautiful day in the world of wizardry." He agreed.

"We should owl the Daily Prophet now so they can get their facts right." Ron chuckled.

"Be sure to add in that Fred and George were wrong too."

They both feel about laughing, while the others looked on in amusement. None of them had heard the whispered conversation, they had been too busy arguing.

"Are you okay to go on?" Hermione asked Harry.

"SHH I'M READING!"

**"I turned to sit up, and this time he let me, releasing his hold around my waist and sliding as far from me as he could in the limited space. I looked at his concerned, innocent expression and was disoriented again by the force of his gold-colored eyes. What was I asking him?**

Hermioine groaned. "She's such an idiot! He's purposefully distracting her with his godly god looks."

"Those are the kind of looks that make you stop in the street and get hit by traffic." Ginny agreed, ignoring the first part of Hermione's statement.

Harry laughed. "Nice Ginny, I see what you did there… hit by traffic…"

"What?"

"She almost got hit by a car…"

Ginny beamed at him. "OH! RIGHT! Yeah I totally did that on purpose."

**"And then they found us, a crowd of people with tears streaming down their faces, shouting at each other, shouting at us.**

**"Don't move," someone instructed.**

**"Get Tyler out of the van!" someone else shouted.**

**There was a flurry of activity around us. I tried to get up, but Edward's cold hand pushed my shoulder down."Just stay put for now."**

**"But it's cold," I complained."**

"You almost died woman!" George cried.

"She needs to sort out her priorities." Fred agrees. Ron looked scandalized.

"Hey! That's my line!"

"No little brother," George started.

"Your line is," Fred continued.

"BLOODY HELL!" they yelled together.

Ron blushed and crossed his arms. "I can have two lines."

"Only we get two lines." They chorused together.

**"It surprised me when he chuckled under his breath. There was an edge to the sound.**

**"You were over there," I suddenly remembered, and his chuckle stopped short. "You were by your car."**

**His expression turned hard. "No, I wasn't."**

"LIAR LIAR PLANTS FOR HIRE!" Ginny yelled out, smiling triumphantly at using a 'Muggle' phrase. Hermione and Harry laughed at her mispronunciation, they were the only ones who understood.

"Ginny is 'liar liar pants on fire'." Hermione explained.

"Oh…" Ginny blushed red and didn't say anything.

**"I saw you." All around us was chaos. I could hear the gruffer voices of adults arriving on the scene. But I obstinately held on to our argument; I was right, and he was going to admit it.**

"GIRL POWER!" no not Hermione, not even Ginny, but George yelled. Everyone was stunned into silence before bursting in peels of hysterical laughter.

**"Bella, I was standing with you, and I pulled you out of the way." He unleashed the full, devastating power of his eyes on me, as if trying to communicate something crucial.**

"How do eyes have so much power?" Harry asked, pausing in his reading. "I mean, they're just eyes."

Ginny shook her head. "You have no idea." She mumbled, having been lost in Harry's emerald eyes many times.

**"No." I set my jaw.**

**The gold in his eyes blazed. "Please, Bella."**

"Please Bella." Fred mimicked.

"Listen to me Bella." George guffawed, putting on a husky deep voice.

"Jump rope for me Bella."

"Jump of a cliff for me Bella."

"GEORGE! WHAT HAPPENED TO THAT LINE THAT YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO CROSS?" Fred bellowed.

"I bet you 10 galleons that she will jump of a cliff and it will have something to do with him." George challenged.

"Done." Fred said, and they shook hands. "But how do you know it will happen in this book?"

"It wont."

"There are more?" Ron wailed.

"This is definitely the type of series that will span four books and a movie franchise." George said knowledgably

"Huh..."

**"Why?" I demanded.**

**"Trust me," he pleaded, his soft voice overwhelming.**

**I could hear the sirens now. "Will you promise to explain everything to me later?"**

**"Fine," he snapped, abruptly exasperated.**

**"Fine," I repeated angrily.**

"Why are they angry?" Harry asked no one in particular.

"UST!" Fred and George yelled.

"And that is…" Ron asked.

"UNRESOLVED SEXUAL TENSION!" they bellowed to the world, some birds flew away in panic.

Ginny grinned. "You know, in saying that, your admitting that he's a vampire."

Fred and George gasped in union. "NO! MERLIN WE TAKE IT BACK! WE'RE SORRY FOR DISAPPOINTING YOU!"

"You're so weird. How are we related?" Ginny asked. No one answered.

**"It took six EMTs"**

"What's a EMT?" Ron asked.

Hermione and Harry shook their heads. "No idea. Must be an American thing."

"Cool, cool."

**"and two teachers — Mr. Varner and Coach Clapp — to shift the van far enough away from us to bring the stretchers in. Edward vehemently refused his, and I tried to do the same, but the traitor told them I'd hit my head and probably had a concussion.**

Everyone chuckled when she thought the words traitor. "I want to be able to read minds." Ginny cackled.

"No you don't." all the guys said. Hermione and Ginny turned green.

"EWWW!"

**"I almost died of humiliation when they put on the neck brace."**

"A neckbrace is something that goes around your neck when they think your head is damaged." Hermione said.

"We know." Fred said.

"We aren't idiots." George added.

"Why do I bother?" Hermione asked a squirrel that was on a tree.

"I don't know." George squeaked, pretending to sound like the squirrel. It send him a withering look and scuttled up higher.

"Wooooow."

**"It looked like the entire school was there, watching soberly as they loaded me in the back of the ambulance. Edward got to ride in the front. It was maddening. To make matters worse, Chief Swan arrived before they could get me safely away.**

Harry scoffed. "'Chief Swan', doesn't even call her Dad 'Dad'. What is wrong with this girl?"

Hermione thought for a second. "Maybe it's because she has never had a close relationship with her Dad, so she doesn't see him as one."

She was given no reply.

**"Bella!" he yelled in panic when he recognized me on the stretcher.**

**"I'm completely fine, Char — Dad," I sighed. "There's nothing wrong with me."**

**He turned to the closest EMT for a second opinion. I tuned him out to consider the jumble of inexplicable images churning chaotically in my head. When they'd lifted me away from the car, I had seen the deep dent in the tan car's bumper — a very distinct dent that fit the contours of Edward's shoulders…as if he had braced himself against the car with enough force to damage the metal frame…**

"VAMPIRE!" they yelled. "You may as well pay us now and get it over with."

Fred, George and Hermione all shook their heads. "There is going to be a vampire called Edward."

"How many Edwards are you expecting in this book?" Ron asked in exasperation.

George looked at him seriously. "A lot."

**"And then there was his family, looking on from the distance, with expressions that ranged from disapproval to fury, but held no hint of concern for their brother's safety."**

"Because he just gave away their secret." Ginny said logically.

"What? You think the whole family is a bunch of vampires?" Hermione asked, aghast. Ginny nodded, and her brothers chuckled.

"My dear little sister, you are seriously under educated in the world of vampires." Fred said condescendingly.

"Why?"

"Because, vampires can't _live_ together. It's not in their nature. They would rip each other's heads off in an instant." George supplied helpfully.

The girls paled and turned a light shade of green. "Nice."

**"I tried to think of a logical solution that could explain what I had just seen — a solution that excluded the assumption that I was insane."**

"You are insane! He was standing next to you! He is not supernatural!" Fred and George shouted as one at the book.

"DENIAL!" Harry yelled back.

**"Naturally, the ambulance got a police escort to the county hospital."**

"Naturally." Ron said sarcastically.

**"I felt ridiculous the whole time they were unloading me. What made it worse was that Edward simply glided through the hospital doors under his own power. I ground my teeth together."**

"She totally likes the pants off him." Ginny snickered. Hermione started giggling hysterically.

"What are we gonna do with them?" Harry asked Ron, who shrugged.

"Their girls mate, a lost cause."

"HEY!" they so called 'lost causes' yelled at them indignantly. Ron cowered away from the glares.

"It was Harry!"

"Excuse me?"

"Take one for the team, mate."

**"They put me in the emergency room, a long room with a line of beds separated by pastel-patterned curtains. A nurse put a pressure cuff on my arm and a thermometer under my tongue. Since no one bothered pulling the curtain around to give me some privacy, I decided I wasn't obligated to wear the stupid-looking neck brace anymore."**

George started singing the Jaws theme tune under his breath and Fred started wailing dramatically. "She's gonna DIIIEEEEE! She's gonna DIIEEE! We're gonna throw up, and then she's gonna DIIIEEEEE!"

"I take back what I said earlier about Bella being an overdramatic bimbo." Harry said between laughter. "You guys have taken that away from her!"

The twins stopped their dramatics to stare at Harry in disbelief. "Say that to our faces."

"You guys are overdramatic bimbos." Harry said seriously.

"Forge," said Fred.

"Yes Gred," replied George.

"There is a third option to this problem called Harry Potter."

"And what is that?"

"It involves…" Fred paused dramatically. "… MURDER!"

"I think options one and two will be more proactive." Harry said.

**"When the nurse walked away, I quickly unfastened the Velcro and threw it under the bed.**

**There was another flurry of hospital personnel, another stretcher brought to the bed next to me. I recognized Tyler Crowley from my Government class beneath the bloodstained bandages wrapped tightly around his head. Tyler looked a hundred times worse than I felt. But he was staring anxiously at me."**

"Yes because she's so ill that she needs special attention from everyone." Ron said sarcastically.

"I hate it when people at me anxiously when I'm in the hospital wing…" Harry muttered, more to himself then anyone.

"Yeah but mate, it's usually because you've fallen off a broom or something equally as life threatening." Ron grinned, clapping Harry on the shoulder.

"It's not my fault that I'm a danger magnet!" Harry wailed dramatically.

"And he called us over dramatic bimbos." Fred murmured to George.

"Tell me about it… hypocrite."

**"Bella, I'm so sorry!"**

**"I'm fine, Tyler — you look awful, are you all right?" As we spoke, nurses began unwinding his soiled bandages, exposing a myriad of shallow slices all over his forehead and left cheek."**

The girls made faces at this.

"Cars are dangerous inventions." George said knowledgably.

Hermione scoffed. "Like you'd know anything about them."

"My Dad owned a flying car that almost got Ron and Harry expelled and killed." George threw back. "Beat that!"

"In that order?" Harry whispered to Ron.

"And I thought Hermione was the one with the messed ideas about dying and being expelled." He muttered back, and they both started laughing.

**"He ignored me. "I thought I was going to kill you! I was going too fast, and I hit the ice wrong…" He winced as one nurse started dabbing at his face.**

**"Don't worry about it; you missed me."**

**"How did you get out of the way so fast? You were there, and then you were gone…"**

**"Umm… Edward pulled me out of the way."**

**He looked confused. "Who?"**

Ginny giggled. "Oh you know, the incredibly sexy guy that every girl wants. Probably makes you guys feel insecure about your own looks." Hermione started laughing.

"Did I mention he's ludicrously sexy and good looking?" she added in.

**"Edward Cullen — he was standing next to me." I'd always been a terrible liar; I didn't sound convincing at all.**

Ginny frowned. "But isn't that sort of true… I mean, that's not even a lie."

"Bella is never going to be able to play poker." George said sadly, bowing his head.

"May there be a moment of silence while we pray for our fallen brethren?" Fred said, humming slightly.

Hermione turned to Ron. "What in merlin's name are they doing? And how do they know about poker?"

It was Ginny who answered her. "A Muggle girl in the town closest to us." She frowned, and blushed. "She likes their 'magic' tricks."

**"Cullen? I didn't see him… wow, it was all so fast, I guess. Is he okay?"**

**"I think so. He's here somewhere, but they didn't make him use a stretcher."**

"LET IT GO ALREADY!" everyone shouted at the book.

**"I knew I wasn't crazy. What had happened? There was no way to explain away what I'd seen."**

"It's okay Bella, we know you aren't crazy. There's a simple explanation to why you can't explain what's happening… he's a vampire, and you don't believe in vampires, but you will, so just hang it there." Ginny said condescendingly, looking at the book like it was baby.

Harry was freaking out because it looked she was looking at him, which was just weird, since he was a year older.

**"They wheeled me away then, to X-ray my head. I told them there was nothing wrong, and I was right. Not even a concussion."**

"What's an X-ray?" Ginny asked brightly.

"Something that can see into your body, so doctors can see if you have broken a bone or something to that effect." Hermione said.

All the wizards gasped in excitement. "Take me to one!" Ron exclaimed.

"Break a bone." Was her amused response.

**"I asked if I could leave, but the nurse said I had to talk to a doctor first. So I was trapped in the ER, waiting, harassed by Tyler 's constant apologies and promises to make it up to me."**

"I have a theory!" Hermione said in excitement. "He almost ran her over to give him an excuse to talk to her. And take her out on a date."

Every boy laughed. "Smooth Tyler." Fred and George chuckled. "There are easier ways to get a girls attention."

"Like what?" Hermione asked, genuinely interested.

They shared mischievous looks but said nothing. Hermione was about to open her mouth to ask again, when Ron butted in.

"Men's secrets."

**"No matter how many times I tried to convince him I was fine, he continued to torment himself. Finally, I closed my eyes and ignored him. He kept up a remorseful mumbling."**

"Dude what's the point? She's asleep!" George exclaimed.

"Annoying her isn't the way into a girl's heart." Fred informed them.

**"Is she sleeping?" a musical voice asked. My eyes flew open."**

"But for sexual Edward, who has annoyed her since the beginning of this book, she opens her eyes immediately." Hermione and Ginny cackled manically.

"I don't like seeing them like this…" Harry whispered to the guys.

"When did Ginny become like… _this_?" Fred whispered back, frowning in brotherly disapproval.

**"Edward was standing at the foot of my bed, smirking. I glared at him. It wasn't easy — it would have been more natural to ogle."**

"MORE PROOF!" they yelled out loud together.

"I really wanna meet this guy…" Ginny sighed, and Hermione nodded. While the boys exchanged disgusted looks, Ginny and Hermione winked at each other.

The. Plan. Was. Working.

"Hey, Edward, I'm really sorry —"Tyler began.

**Edward lifted a hand to stop him. "No blood, no foul," he said, flashing his brilliant teeth. He moved to sit on the edge of Tyler 's bed, facing me. He smirked again. "So, what's the verdict?" he asked me."**

Harry gaped at the book, then looked up in excitement. "See that? Did you see that comment? He is a vampire! PAY UP!"

Ron and Ginny, quickly catching onto what he was talking about, starting dancing around the gathering. "WE WIN! WE WIN! WE WIN!"

The other three tried to keep their cool. "How have you made this conclusion?" Hermione asked.

"Because, if he wasn't a vampire then he wouldn't care about blood… therefore HE IS A VAMPIRE!" Harry informed them in excitement, laughing.

"Maybe he was talking about Tyler not killing Bella…?" George suggested, desperately wishing he could go back in time and change his bet. It was so obvious that this author had got her vampire information totally messed up.

Ginny shook her head adamantly. "No, no, no. He's talking about the fact that there isn't any blood for him to go crazy on!"

"Tyler's bleeding." Fred pointed out.

"His are covered up." Ron threw out, pausing in his victory dance.

Hermione frowned, recalling everything she knew about vampires. "Even if his wounds are covered up, he can still smell the blood. Therefore, not a vampire."

"Maybe he has built up a resistance to the smell of blood, I mean he goes to school for Merlin's sake." Ginny retorted, looking pleased with herself.

"WHAT KIND OF VAMPIRE GOES TO SCHOOL?" George roared, which effectively killed the debate, since no one could answer that, without contradicting their bet. Harry went back to reading.

**"There's nothing wrong with me at all, but they won't let me go," I complained. "How come you aren't strapped to a gurney like the rest of us?"**

**"It's all about who you know," he answered. "But don't worry, I came to spring you."**

**Then a doctor walked around the corner, and my mouth fell open.**

**He was young, he was blond… and he was handsomer than any movie star I'd ever seen."**

"Cue Edwards Cullen's adoptive father." Hermione said. Everyone looked at her. "What?"

"How do you know that?" Ron asked.

"His whole family is attractive, makes sense for the Dad to be to." Hermione shrugged.

"More vampirisms." Ginny muttered under her breath. Only Harry heard, and he shot her a grin.

Her heart nearly stopped beating.

**"He was pale, though, and tired-looking, with circles under his eyes. From Charlie's description, this had to be Edward's father."**

Hermione jumped up and started doing her own victory dance. "OH YEAH I WAS RIGHT!"

"No one doubted you 'Mione." Harry said calmly, and she sat back down, still beaming.

"You guys are just jealous that you didn't come up with it first." She said smugly.

"So jealous." Fred deadpanned.

"I'm practically crying with disappointment." George said sarcastically.

**"So, Miss Swan," Dr. Cullen said in a remarkably appealing voice, "how are you feeling?"**

**"I'm fine," I said, for the last time, I hoped.**

**He walked to the lightboard on the wall over my head, and turned it on."Your X-rays look good," he said. "Does your head hurt? Edward said you hit it pretty hard."**

**"It's fine," I repeated with a sigh, throwing a quick scowl toward doctor's cool fingers probed lightly along my skull. He noticed when I winced.**

**"Tender?" he asked.**

**"Not really." I'd had worse."**

Harry and Ginny started chuckling, imagining all sorts of 'Bella-falling-over-and-hurting-her-head' moments. They were very funny.

One involved her tripping over a cordless phone and hitting her head on the side of the fridge. How did she do that? You will need to ask Harry, since this was his idea.

Ginny's was very different. Bella was just walking along the road, casually, when she slipped on a banana peel – like in cartoons – and fell over, onto a skateboard, which then started speeding down a massive hill, while Bella screamed and tried to stay on. Finally it ended with Bella diving for safety into a nearby swimming pool, and hitting her head on the shallow end.

None of them happened.

The others wished they could share in on the joke.

**"I heard a chuckle, and looked over to see Edward's patronizing smile. My eyes narrowed.**

**"Well, your father is in the waiting room — you can go home with him now. But come back if you feel dizzy or have trouble with your eyesight at all."**

**"Can't I go back to school?" I asked, imagining Charlie trying to be attentive."**

"Don't you mean caring?" Harry asked, not annoyed exactly, just frustrated. Ginny wished desperately she could take his hand again, but she wasn't sitting next to him anymore, so it would be weird.

**"Maybe you should take it easy today."**

**I glanced at Edward. "Does he get to go to school?"**

**"Someone has to spread the good news that we survived," Edward said smugly."**

The others laughed at his answer.

"I like this guy." Ron said.

"Mmmm, he's funny, attractive and nice! What more could you want from a guy?" Ginny mumbled to herself, and Hermione giggled in agreement.

**"Actually," Dr. Cullen corrected, "most of the school seems to be in the waiting room."**

**"Oh no," I moaned, covering my face with my hands."**

Harry groaned along with her. "That is always so embarrassing!"

"Just because your famous." Ron said back.

"You try being famous." He challenged.

**"Dr. Cullen raised his eyebrows. "Do you want to stay?"**

**"No, no!" I insisted, throwing my legs over the side of the bed and hopping down quickly. Too quickly — I staggered, and Dr. Cullen caught me. He looked concerned.**

**"I'm fine," I assured him again. No need to tell him my balance problems had nothing to do with hitting my head."**

Harry and Ginny hadn't laughed when she stumbled out of bed, because they had thought she was hurt. Now they busted some guts laughing so hard.

"Oh… merlin… balance… problems…" Harry gasped out.

"Never… heard… it… put… like… that…" Ginny agreed between giggles.

"Should we send for help?" George asked in a faux scared voice.

"Naw, they'll live." Fred comforted. "For how long I don't know." The twins broke into maniacal laughter.

Ron turned to Hermione. "We are the only sane ones left."

Hermione laughed. "_I'm _the only sane one left."

Ron gaped at her in outrage.

**"Take some Tylenol for the pain," he suggested as he steadied me."**

**"Tylenol?" George asked.**

"Pain killer." Harry replied before Hermione even opened her mouth. "WHOA! BET YOU 'MIONE!"

Hermione huffed and crossed her arms in faux annoyance.

**"It doesn't hurt that bad," I insisted.**

**"It sounds like you were extremely lucky," Dr. Cullen said, smiling as he signed my chart with a flourish.**

**"Lucky Edward happened to be standing next to me," I amended with a hard glance at the subject of my statement.**

**"Oh, well, yes," Dr. Cullen agreed, suddenly occupied with the papers in front of him."**

"He's in on it!" Ron shouted out in excitement. "He's probably a vampire too!"

"I think we've through with that already…" Ginny said, giggling.

**"Then he looked away, at Tyler, and walked to the next bed. My intuition flickered; the doctor was in on it."**

Ron made a smug noise at the back of his throat. "See? Even the book agrees with me."

"We never doubted you, Ron." Harry sighed.

**"I'm afraid that you'll have to stay with us just a little bit longer," he said to Tyler, and began checking his cuts.**

**As soon as the doctor's back was turned, I moved to Edward's side."**

"The side you will stay at." Ron said ominiously.

"For the rest of your eternal life." Ginny added in in a spooky voice.

"She's a Muggle, Ginny, she won't be living forever." Hermione told them.

Ginny and Ron rolled their eyes. "Obviously Hermione, but since Eddie is a vampire, she will get turned." Ginny explained.

"Oh how silly of me." Hermione said, faking a laugh. "Except he's not a vampire!"

"HE IS!"

**"Can I talk to you for a minute?" I hissed under my breath. He took a step back from me, his jaw suddenly clenched.**

**"Your father is waiting for you," he said through his teeth.**

**I glanced at Dr. Cullen and Tyler.**

**"I'd like to speak with you alone, if you don't mind," I pressed.**

**He glared, and then turned his back and strode down the long room. I nearly had to run to keep up. As soon as we turned the corner into a short hallway, he spun around to face me.**

**"What do you want?" he asked, sounding annoyed. His eyes were cold.**

**His unfriendliness intimidated me. My words came out with less severity than I'd intended. "You owe me an explanation," I reminded him."**

"He saved your life, he doesn't owe you anything." Ron said sarcastically.

"But he promised her an explanation." Hermione reminded him.

Harry was too busy laughing to say anything. "Oh Merlin you guys, you have to hear this…"

**"I saved your life — I don't owe you anything."**

Ron's mouth dropped open with shock as the others laughed at him. "I… what…"

"You're like Edward!" Ginny giggled.

"So I'm a sexy guy?" Ron asked smugly, getting over his shock. Ginny paled and turned green.

"Ugghhh…" she shuddered. "I don't even want to think about that. You've ruined Edward for me!"

Ron shrugged. "He was too old for you anyways."

Harry laughed. "Way to old, seeing as he's probably like 400 or something."

Everyone blanched at that thought, even the ones opposed to the theory.

**"I flinched back from the resentment in his voice. "You promised."**

**"Bella, you hit your head, you don't know what you're talking about." His tone was cutting."**

"Ouch," Hermione winced. "That's cold."

"My temper flared now, and I glared defiantly at him. "There's nothing wrong with my head."

"That issue could be debatable." Fred said.

"Seeing as you think he's 'supernatural'." George said sarcastically.

"And her clumsiness…" Harry whispered to Ginny, who giggled and nodded.

**"He glared back. "What do you want from me, Bella?"**

"YOUR BODY!" the girls yelled outloud.

**"I want to know the truth," I said. "I want to know why I'm lying for you."**

**"What do you think happened?" he snapped.**

**It came out in a rush.**

**"All I know is that you weren't anywhere near me —Tyler didn't see you, either, so don't tell me I hit my head too hard. That van was going to crush us both — and it didn't, and your hands left dents in the side of it — and you left a dent in the other car, and you're not hurt at all — and the van should have smashed my legs, but you were holding it up…" I could hear how crazy it sounded, and I couldn't continue. I was so mad I could feel the tears coming; I tried to force them back by grinding my teeth together."**

Hermione shook her head sympathetically. "So embarrassing when that happens."

"You know…" Harry said slowly, his eyes scanning over the last paragraph. "She's surprisingly accurate, given the circumstances."

"Oh no…" Hermione whispered, paling as a sudden thought hit her. Harry looked at her in amusement.

"It's not that bad."

**"He was staring at me incredulously. But his face was tense, defensive."You think I lifted a van off you?" His tone questioned my sanity, but it only made me more suspicious. It was like a perfectly delivered line by a skilled actor."**

They all laughed.

**"I merely nodded once, jaw tight.**

**"Nobody will believe that, you know." His voice held an edge of derision now.**

**"I'm not going to tell anybody." I said each word slowly, carefully controlling my anger.**

**Surprise flitted across his face.**

**"Then why does it matter?"**

**"It matters to me," I insisted. "I don't like to lie — so there'd better be a good reason why I'm doing it."**

**"Can't you just thank me and get over it?"**

**"Thank you." I waited, fuming and expectant."**

"Bella, that wasn't very sincere, say it again, with more 'thank you'ness in it." Fred said in the perfect imitation of his mums voice.

George laughed. "Mum used say that to Ginny all the time when she little." Ginny blushed.

"I don't like apologizing." She muttered. "It's like backing down."

Harry grinned. "Think of it as a tactical retreat."

**"You're not going to let it go, are you?"**

**"No."**

**"In that case… I hope you enjoy disappointment."**

**We scowled at each other in silence. I was the first to speak, trying to keep myself focused. I was in danger of being distracted by his livid, glorious face. It was like trying to stare down a destroying angel."**

"Yes, I guess that would be hard." George deadpanned.

**"Why did you even bother?" I asked frigidly.**

**He paused, and for a brief moment his stunning face was unexpectedly vulnerable."**

The girls cooed. "Aww, I just love a man who shows his feelings." Ginny sighed.

"Them looking vulnerable is just the hottest look ever." Hermione agreed.

**"I don't know," he whispered.**

**And then he turned his back on me and walked away.**

**I was so angry, it took me a few minutes until I could move. When I could walk, I made my way slowly to the exit at the end of the hallway.**

**The waiting room was more unpleasant than I'd feared. It seemed like every face I knew in Forks was there, staring at me. Charlie rushed to my side; I put up my hands.**

**"There's nothing wrong with me," I assured him sullenly. I was still aggravated, not in the mood for chitchat.**

**"What did the doctor say?"**

**"Dr. Cullen saw me, and he said I was fine and I could go home." I sighed. Mike and Jessica and Eric were all there, beginning to converge on us. "Let's go," I urged."**

"GET OUT BEFORE THE MOB GETS YOU!" Harry yelled at the book.

"GET OUT BEFORE YOU EMBARRESS YOURSELF BY BEING SENT BACK INTO THE HOSPITAL BECAUSE YOU TRIPPED DOWN THE STAIRS!" Ginny hollered and laughed.

"That's to long…" Ron mused. "Needs to be shorter, more catchier."

"Umm… how about…" Ginny thought for a minute. "DON'T TRIP AND DIE!"

Everyone laughed. "I can see the headlines now…" Fred began, spreading his arms wide.

"GIRL TRIPPED ON HOSPITAL STEPS AND DIED," George continued, and they laughed some more.

"How ironic."

**"Charlie put one arm behind my back, not quite touching me, and led me to the glass doors of the exit. I waved sheepishly at my friends, hoping to convey that they didn't need to worry anymore. It was a huge relief— the first time I'd ever felt that way — to get into the cruiser.**

**We drove in silence. I was so wrapped up in my thoughts that I barely knew Charlie was there. I was positive that Edward's defensive behavior in the hall was a confirmation of the bizarre things I still could hardly believe I'd witnessed.**

**When we got to the house, Charlie finally spoke."Um… you'll need to call Renée." He hung his head, guilty."**

"Who's Renée?" George frowned.

"Some old friend?" Hermione suggested.

"I swear she didn't have any 'old friends'." Ginny giggled.

**"I was appalled. "You told Mom!"**

**"Sorry."**

**I slammed the cruiser's door a little harder than necessary on my way out.**

**My mom was in hysterics, of course. I had to tell her I felt fine at least thirty times before she would calm down."**

"What an adorable mother!" Hermione and Ginny cooed, staring at the book with adoring eyes.

"Um… guys… your freaking me out." Harry said uncomfortably.

**"She begged me to come home — forgetting the fact that home was empty at the moment — but her pleas were easier to resist than I would have thought. I was consumed by the mystery Edward presented. And more than a little obsessed by Edward himself. Stupid, stupid, stupid."**

"Smart, smart, smart." Hermione whispered. Everyone heard and looked at her. "What?" she asked innocently. "If she wasn't, then there wouldn't be a story line."

"Smooth." Ginny muttered to her after they looked away.

"I know." Hermione beamed back and Ginny shook her head in amusement.

**"I wasn't as eager to escape Forks as I should be, as any normal, sane person would be."**

"It seems like a nice place." George said, trying and failing to sound serious.

"Yeah, nice and boring." Fred agreed.

"Everyone needs some boring-ness in their lives." Harry countered, who had had way to much excitement in his short fourteen years.

"Wonder what it's like to have a quiet life?" Ron mused, and Harry elbowed him. "OW! You have sharp elbows!"

"Man up!" Hermione said, to both of them.

"But Hermione-"

"He was mean-"

"No right to do-"

"Doesn't have to-"

"Puny guy with specks-"

"OI!" Harry yelled at Ron, and then they both fell about laughing.

Hermione looked at Ginny, Fred and George's faces. "It's normal, don't worry."

"Wasn't worrying!" Fred said happily.

"They need to go to the loony bin…" George muttered, and Fred shushed in.

"Hush now Georgie, no need to say those things out loud." They started laughing too.

Hermione turned to Ginny. "We are the only sane ones left."

"May merlin be with you."

**"I decided I might as well go to bed early that night. Charlie continued to watch me anxiously, and it was getting on my nerves.**

**I stopped on my way to grab three Tylenol from the bathroom.**

**They did help, and, as the pain eased, I drifted to sleep.**

**That was the first night I dreamed of Edward Cullen."**

Harry threw the book down. And that was the end of chapter three!" everyone yelled and started dancing around.

"She's dreaming of her love!" Ginny grinned happily, and for once Hermione wasn't.

"No! Nuh uh, she's not a loud to dream of him, she needs to save herself for the _vampire_!" she said.

"That is the vampire!" Ginny said.

"No it isn't!"

"Yes it is!"

"You're wrong!"

"No, you're wrong!"

"I'm never wrong!"

"You are this time!"

"I-" Hermione's retort was cut off by George's voice.

"YOUR MUMS WRONG!"

Hermione and Ginny turned to look at George in shocked amusement.

"Whose Mum?" Ginny asked sweetly.

"Yours." He answered back promptly.

"We have the same mother."

"Aw damn…"

Everyone else started laughing at George's dismayed face. Ron looked down at his watch, and screamed. Everyone jumped.

"What? What?" they yelled, looking around wildly for the thing that would make him scream.

"We are late for dinner!" he yelled, and started running towards the Burrow. Everyone else exchanged amused looks and followed Ron at a much slower pace.

**A/N: YES! Finished this chapter! I am so proud of myself, like seriously. This is a much quicker update than last time… haha. **

**Oh yeah, and I don't mean any offense to any clumsy people out there, I myself am clumsy so I'm making fun of myself. Also, to the Twilight Lovers, I don't hate Bella, and they don't hate her either. Just thought I'd clear that up! **

**Thanks for everyone that reviewed, favorite, alerted etc. THEY MEAN A LOT! I really do love them reviews, seriously, keep 'em coming!**

**I don't know when my next update will be up… I've started it, but I've got some hospital appointments coming up, and those results will tell me when I can next sit down at my laptop and PLEASE MY AWESOME READERS!**

**Please REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! I love reviews so much! **

**And thanks for reading, and waiting around for the next chapter, since I'm so crap at updating… constructive criticism is wanted! Tell me what I need to improve on… everything! Thanks!**

**Eaglewings2peace**

**xoxo**


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